Ease this broken heart
by SkyMaiden
Summary: It started off as a way for him to get over Sakura. She just wanted to see the look on her face, when she saw that they were a couple. When the hell did real feelings get involved. Ino x Naruto AU-ish. Totally Complete Woo hoo!
1. The brilliant but foolish

**A/N: Just a little idea that came to mind. It probably won't amount to much but it's worth a try.**

**Pairing**: **Naruto x Ino**

**Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sama** **owns Naruto and co. I never will.**

* * *

Two blond shinobi stood staring at each other. They were both slightly out of breath from their intense kiss. Ino closed her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding through her chest. She hadn't expected Naruto to kiss her like that. Hell she hadn't even expected that she would kiss him back.

"Naruto this is so fucked up!"

"You're telling me." He agreed.

Ino sat down on his bed. She placed her hands into her lap as she avoided his gaze.

"When the hell did it get like this? Since when did this get real? Naruto this wasn't supposed to happen."

Naruto sat next to her. He wondered just what he could say to her right now. He reached for her hand.

"Ino did you want to kiss me? Did you really feel what I felt?"

Naruto was feeling so many different emotions. He found that he really enjoyed that kiss with the beautiful kunoichi. He felt the urge to grab her and kiss her again. Naruto wanted to make this faux relationship real. Yeah that was exactly what he wanted. Ino turned her attention elsewhere. What could she possibly say to him right now? Should she admit these growing feelings to him? Could she actually breathe light into the current situation?

"Naruto I did want that kiss." She admitted. "It felt… I can't even begin to describe to you how it felt. I've never actually felt anything like that before."

"Yeah." He understood.

The two of them had decided that in no way shape or form would they get involved for real. This whole thing was supposed to be for public appearance. Ino didn't know exactly when she started to actually feel real feelings for Naruto. But right now she knew that she felt them. She felt them and they were not going away. In honesty it was starting to scare her.

"Ino?" he whispered her name.

"Yeah Naruto?"

"What are we going to do now?"

The platinum blond shook her head. It wasn't like she had any answers for him right now. She couldn't answer him when she didn't have any herself.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

* * *

_(Flashback several months ago)_

The 17 year old blond haired Kyuubi vessel was busy getting in some extra training. Right now he needed to clear his head. It was either this or go pig out on some ramen.

"Yeah ramen is next." He thought with a smile.

After his training he sat putting his supplies away. He had a lot on his mind right now. Most of his thoughts were focused on his pink haired friend. He harbored these deep feelings for her, for a very long time. The more he thought about it though; he could see that he was getting nowhere.

"Maybe Sakura-chan and I will be nothing more than friends."

Could he really just give up though? He had never given up on a single thing in his life before. Why should now be any different? This was only just another challenge to overcome right?

"Hey Naruto?" He heard his name.

He looked up to see a flash of pink running towards him.

"Hey Sakura-chan." He waved.

"Hi. I was hoping to catch you before I left."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah I have a last minute mission. I should be back in a week or so."

Naruto nodded an uneasy silence passed through.

"Well I'll see you later okay Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan wait."

She turned back to look at him with a curious expression on her face. "Yeah what's wrong?"

It was now or never should he go for it.

"I…. never mind be careful on you mission."

"Right." She smiled. "I will be careful, see you soon."

He smiled for her watching as she walked away. He didn't know why but he just couldn't bring himself to say anything to her.

"Maybe I really should give up."

Naruto felt his stomach grumble. "Guess its time for that ramen now." He made his way to Ichiraku's. The blond was so wrapped up in his thoughts he wasn't paying much attention to where he was going. He soon collided with a second blond.

"What the hell?" A loud voice was heard.

Naruto looked to see the one and only Ino Yamanaka.

"Gomen Ino I didn't see you there. Let me help you up." He offered her his hand so he could help her. The blond on the ground just took his hand.

"Yeah just be careful next time. What were you in a daze or something?"

He didn't respond to her at first. She noticed the far off look in those cerulean blue eyes.

"Oh boy." She sighed. "I know that look. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with forehead would it?"

Naruto looked up meeting Ino's knowing gaze. Guess it was really that obvious after all.

"Um…." He started.

"You don't have to say anything Naruto. But geez its not natural seeing you so depressed. Hey I know lets go to Ichiraku's that always seems to cheer you up."

Ino led the way to the ramen stand. When she noticed that Naruto wasn't coming she turned to face him. "Are you coming or what? I mean this is ramen we're talking about. You never refuse eating that."

Naruto just put on a smile for the blond kunoichi.

"Yeah you're right Ino-chan lets get going okay."

Ino wasn't completely sure why she had even offered. If Naruto was depressed over Sakura it really wasn't any of her business. She figured that it was simply because she didn't like seeing anyone down. Once at Ichiraku's she noticed how he sat there. He mindlessly held his chopsticks in his hand. He wasn't even attempting to devour the noodles. She knew for sure that this was indeed serious.

"That's it! I can't take this. Naruto you need to seriously get out of this depressed mood you're in. Moping around doesn't really suit you."

"You don't understand Ino. I have a lot on my mind."

"Oh I get it alright. You're depressed over Sakura because you have this never ending crush on her. Naruto I respect your loyalty and all; but don't you think it's about time you let it go already?"

She really hadn't meant to sound so harsh at the time. She only wanted to be honest with him. The blond male stared at her.

"Maybe you're right."

"Now Naruto I know you don't listen to reason. And don't you dare argue with me…." She stopped. "Huh. What did you say?" she turned her attention towards him.

"I said that maybe you're right."

"_Well I definitely wasn't expecting that."_ She thought. "Damn right I'm right. You know what I'm feeling really generous right now. I'm going to help you."

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat. Ino and help in the same sentence. He wasn't sure if he felt good about any of this.

"Help me?"

"Yeah I mean I'm glad you agree with me that you need to move on. But if you truly want forehead I'll help you. We'll spend some time together. We'll pretend to be a couple just to get under her skin. You know it will piss her off for sure."

"Ino-chan wont that be like me using you?"

The platinum blonde's eye brow twitched. She then rolled her eyes.

"I don't think of it that way. Besides it might be kind of fun to see the look on her face if she thinks that we're together. And on top of it all if she really wants you, she'll come get you."

Naruto took a minute to process everything that Ino had said. He didn't feel completely comfortable with this plan. She was right though he didn't have anything to lose. Maybe spending some time with Ino would help him get over Sakura.

"Ino I….."

"One thing though before we agree to this "relationship".

"What's that?"

"You and I keep this strictly professional. I mean you can not fall in love with me under any circumstances. The same goes for me."

Naruto took a moment to finally eat some of his ramen. This was going to be a lot to think about. Could they really go through with this? Plans like these were bound to have some type of consequences.

"Alright no problem there." His voice now held its usual confident tone.

Ino frowned at this. Was he suggesting that she wasn't worthy of his affections? Ino Yamanaka was more than enough woman for him. She was definitely sure of that.

"Oh is that so? You saying I'm not good enough for you?"

"Huh oh no Ino-chan that's not it at all. I do think that you're pretty." He told her honestly. There was silence for a moment. He was mainly afraid that he would say something to upset her. "Well I have to go. I'll see you around."

"Uzumaki." She called out to him. "If we're going to do this. We are going to do this right. We have to make this whole thing completely believable."

"Right." He nodded. "Don't sweat it Ino we can pull this off no problem. It's not like we like each other that way."

"Yeah this will be a piece of cake. On the plus side if this works you'll get forehead in the end. And if it doesn't work, well at least you can say that you spent time with a beautiful girl like me." She smiled proudly.

"_As expected of Ino-chan_." He thought. "Sure thing Ino whatever you say. Later."

"Bye." She nodded. "Oh yeah this should definitely be fun."


	2. Strategy

**A/n: Well thanks for the responses everyone. I'm glad that everyone seems to be into it so far. I guess I should have explained that I started with the present time first and then jumped to a flashback. Most of the story will be written with me writing how it all started, and then eventually I will get back to the present time with Naruto and Ino trying to figure out where they stand. Okay enough rambling on. Here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto-sama owns him.**

* * *

Ino waited patiently for Naruto to meet her in front of the Yamanaka flower shop. Twenty minutes had passed and he still hadn't shown up. She was doing her best to keep her cool.

"Where the hell is he? I told him to meet me at 4 o clock."

She had to suppress the urge to hit him a few good times for making her wait.

"Ino! Ino I'm sorry I'm late." He quickly apologized as he ran up to meet her.

"Naruto number one rule you never keep a girl waiting."

"Geez I said that I was sorry."

"Whatever." She sighed. "Come on lets go."

She led the way with him following behind her. He had no idea where they were going. He figured that this was all Ino's idea he would let her handle all the details.

"Where are we going Ino?"

"Just somewhere I like to go to think. We do have to strategize of course."

Strategize? She was treating this like it was a war or something.

"Ino this isn't war or a mission. I mean its not like it's life or death."

She glared at him as if he had somehow said the absolute worst thing in the world.

"Well love is like war. Its just as serious. You've got to take this seriously Naruto even if its only for show. I mean we know that none of this is for real. But everyone else doesn't know that."

"_Wow Ino sure is committed to things."_ He thought to himself.

Ino stopped walking when they approached a field of flowers. Naruto couldn't say that he was surprised. It was full of flowers. This was probably like heaven to her. The blue eyed kunoichi sat down motioning for him to sit with her. He sat down leaning up against the tree. He had to admit this place was pretty relaxing. Everything from the flowers to the nearby lake. He imagined that at night this place would be absolutely stunning.

"Damn Ino this place is relaxing. I can totally fall asleep right here." He put his hands behind his head as he prepared to close his eyes.

"Look here Shikamaru version 2.0. You don't have time to sleep right now. We've got planning to do."

"Ino what's the big deal. All we have to do is go around pretending that we're a couple. What's so hard about that?" He asked her.

It took everything Ino had to keep herself from hitting him upside the head. She was beginning to see why Sakura had done it so frequently. Although the pink haired girl had taken it too far sometimes. Ino didn't want to knock him into oblivion. She just wanted to hit him a few good times to get those remaining brain cells up and running.

"Naruto let's think about this for a minute. Have you and I ever shown any interest in one another at all over the years?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Good boy. Now I know it hurts your head but try to follow me okay. If we've never shown any interest in each other before. What makes you think that anyone is going to believe us if we don't do this right?"

Naruto knew that of course Ino was right. They couldn't just fall in love over night. Everyone would be able to see right through that. This was going to be a challenge he was beginning to see that. He and Ino had to make this as convincing as possible.

"Yeah you're probably right."

"Of course I'm right. Rule number two Naruto the girl is always right no matter what."

"Well what if she isn't…."

"Trust me if you want to survive and keep a girl happy she's always right."

Naruto sighed throwing his arms over his head. "How many rules are there? Its like you wrote a rulebook or something. Having a pretend girlfriend is hard work."

"Oh yeah well wait until you get a real girlfriend. I'm sure that Forehead isn't going to make it easy for you."

Naruto suddenly became quiet. Ino noticed his silence. She raised an eyebrow to him.

"Now what's wrong?" She questioned.

"It's just what if this whole thing doesn't work out. What if we're really just wasting our time? Maybe we should forget the whole thing."

"You getting soft on me Uzumaki. Since when did you start giving up on things?"

The blond male sighed to himself.

"Ino why do you want to help me. We aren't exactly best friends you know."

"I told you this could prove to be interesting. Also I know that you really like her, you've had a crush on her for what now an eternity." She teased.

"That's not funny. I am trying to get over it."

"Yeah I don't really know if I believe you completely on that. But if you are serious about getting over her, if you really think about it aren't you using me too?"

She had a point they both knew that.

"Hey! I thought that you said you weren't going to think of it like that."

"Yeah I remember what I said. You and I are both getting something out of this. So why don't we just call it an adventure. We can at least have some fun cant we?"

"_Ino-chan needs a hobby. She needs to get the hell out of that flower shop more. I think that its making her kind of crazy." _He thought. "Sure Ino-chan." He nodded.

"Great. So now that that's out of the way. We do have to think of something. We have to make it believable without overdoing it."

"Ino-chan why don't I ask you out in front of everyone. That's a start."

"Hmm." She thought about his suggestion. "That's true that would be a start. It would be even more believable if I turned you down and you pursued me a little."

Ino was starting to feel enthusiastic about the whole pursuit aspect of things. She did like the attention. This whole plan would definitely bring attention to the both of them.

"Yeah I guess that would be the best thing. I'm used to being rejected." Naruto spoke.

Although Ino hadn't told him this to his face she did find him attractive. After he first came back from his training trip he was definitely something to look at. Time had surely been good to Naruto.

"Don't be so down on yourself. You know you've only been after one girl all this time. Who's to say that someone else wouldn't have said yes to you? You should have kept your options open." Ino reminded him.

"Yeah that's true I guess. Hey." He smiled. "I've got an idea." She noticed the bright glint in his eyes. He had a plan of some sort. He was thinking crazy right now she was sure of it.

"Naruto you aren't going to do anything crazy are you?"

"No time to explain Ino I have to go. Just remember to be your usual bossy self and I'll see you tomorrow like planned."

"Bossy." She repeated.

"Yeah you know the Ino charm that only you posses. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." She could say no more as he was already gone. "I'll just have to wait and see whatever he has planned. He'd better not do anything crazy or Kami help him."

**A/N: Alright so nothing big happening right now but it should get better as the story progresses hopefully. Stay here for more.**


	3. What happened to being convincing

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone. I am really putting a lot of effort in this story. So hopefully things will turn out as planned. As always enjoy.**

* * *

To say that Ino was concerned about whatever Naruto had planned was putting it lightly. She knew all too well how eager and unpredictable the blond male was.

"I have a really bad feeling about this." She thought to herself.

"Hey Ino where are you right now. You look like you're a million miles away." Sakura spoke.

"Yeah she's right Ino what's going on?" TenTen asked.

The blond kunoichi took a sip of her tea. She wasn't really sure how she should answer her.

"Ino-chan is everything okay?" Hinata wondered.

The four girls had met up today to have some tea and spend their day together. She knew that today was better than any to put her plan with Naruto into action. There were witnesses around so they could all see this "so called relationship" come to a start.

"Guys I'm fine really. I just have some stuff on my mind that's all."

"Oh." TenTen nodded knowingly. "Boy trouble huh." She nudged the younger girl in the shoulder.

"Come on TenTen you know that Ino-pig is single. What boy trouble could she possible have?" the pink haired teen teased gently.

Ino glared daggers at her friend.

"So are you forehead. The only people here who would have boy problems are TenTen and Hinata. How are things with Lee and Kiba anyway?"

"Lee and I are fine." The brunette said confidently.

"Y...yeah. Kiba-kun and I are doing g…good." Hinata answered.

"Hear that Sakura you better get a move on if you want to catch up to these two."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she sipped her tea.

"Oh yeah well what about you? I don't exactly see your social calendar full."

Ino stood up placing some money on the table.

"I don't need a man to define me." She said proudly as she walked out of the tea house.

"Spoken like a true desperate single girl. Hey Ino-pig wait up."

The three girls followed after their friend. All Ino could really think about was what Naruto had said the day before. It was the only thing on her mind.

"Just what the hell is he planning?" She wondered.

"Ino hey wait up."

She waited for her friends to catch up to her.

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Before anyone could say anything else Konohamaru's voice was heard.

"Ino nee-chan!" he shouted.

The platinum blond turned around to see the young boy running towards her. He was carrying a bouquet of orchids in his hand.

"Konohamaru-chan what's going on?"

"Hiya Ino-chan. I have something for you." He smiled his toothy grin as he handed her the beautiful bouquet. She blinked as she took the flowers from him.

"Thank you Konohamaru who are they from?"

"There's no card." Sakura noticed.

"I'm sorry Ino nee-chan I was only told to give them to you. I got to run though see ya."

The three teens waited until the brown haired boy was gone before turning their attention to Ino. They were definitely curious as to why she had those flowers.

"What's up?" Ino asked.

"Looks like Ino-pig has an admirer." Sakura spoke in an amused tone.

"What? I do not. Konohamaru was probably just playing a trick or something." She decided that this was most likely the answer. Ino said no more to her friends as she started to walk away.

"They are pretty flowers Ino-chan." The blue haired girl told her.

"Yeah I wonder who they're from."

As the girls continued walking they continued to share their theories on whom it could be. Ino's eye twitched she couldn't take this another minute longer.

"Well it definitely wasn't my Lee he wouldn't dare disrespect me like that." TenTen said.

"Hey maybe it was Shino?" the pink haired teen suggested because she knew it would piss Ino off.

"Bug Boy!" She shouted. "Get real you three. I'm telling you that it was probably a joke." She turned around facing her friends with a displeased look on her face.

"Okay Ino geez relax."

"INO-CHAN!!!" a very loud voice was heard.

"What the….."

Ino, TenTen, Sakura, and Hinata looked to see Naruto jumping from the roof of a building. He landed in front of the more than surprised blond kunoichi.

"Na…Naruto?" she questioned in disbelief.

Sakura suddenly punched the blond male in the head. He instantly fell to the ground.

"Ow Sakura-chan?" he whined.

"What the hell we're you thinking jumping from the roof like that baka. Were you trying to freak us out? Not to mention you probably could have hurt yourself."

"Naruto-kun are you okay?" Hinata asked.

He shook his head trying to regain himself after that nasty blow to the head.

"Hai I'm fine." He nodded giving her the thumbs up. He then turned his attention to Ino. He smiled for her. "Ino-chan did you like the flowers I sent for you."

"You sent them!" TenTen and Sakura said together.

"Yeah Ino-chan." He dropped to his knee taking her hand. Ino stood with her mouth open. She could form no words. She was in complete shock mode right now. How the hell could he pull something like this? And she had no time to even prepare for his little stunt.

"Ino-chan you are so beautiful. Will you let me take you out?"

TenTen, Sakura, and Hinata each stood in shock, awe, and bewilderment. This wasn't seriously happening right now. None of this seemed to make any kind of sense. Ino pulled herself together letting the shock disappear from her face.

"Naruto…" She began.

"Come on Ino-chan you'll have a great time. Its not like your busy anyway you've got plenty of free time."

She looked horrified at his insult. Ino pulled him up dragging him away.

"We have to talk now in private you baka!" She growled.

"Ino-chan not so rough we haven't even had out first date yet."

The platinum blond hit him over the head and he saw nothing but stars.

"I'll be right back." She told her friends as she continued dragging Naruto along. Once she was sure that they weren't within earshot of anyone else she let him go. "Naruto what in all hell were you thinking? What happened to being convincing? Don't you think that you went a little overboard?"

"No way wasn't it great Ino. When have I ever been quiet about anything I've done?"

"You got a point there." She agreed as she sat down besides him. "Seriously though how are we supposed to recover from this "brilliant" idea of yours."

"I'm glad that you thought it was brilliant too." He smiled confidently.

"I was being sarcastic Naruto."

"Oh." He whispered as he scratched his hair. "I knew that."

Ino put her hand to her chin as she thought to herself. Naruto simply closed his eyes. He didn't feel like sitting around waiting for her to come up with some sort of plan.

"Ino just follow my lead alright. Come up with anything you want to say."

He started walking from behind the wall. He could see the other three kunoichi still standing in view. Naruto knew that he had to make this convincing.

"Come on Ino-chan how can you just say no to me like that?"

Ino thought for a moment before she spoke. "Well you haven't really given me any good reason as to why I should say yes." She fired back with her hands on her hips.

"Didn't I promise you all the ramen that you could eat? What more can you possibly want?"

Ino only looked disgusted for a moment. "Ramen is not the way to a girls heart you moron." She sighed. "I'm out of here but thanks for the flowers."

"Okay Ino-chan but I'm not going to give up." He shouted after her giving her two thumbs up.

"Whatever you say." She continued on walking until she was standing with her friends again.

"Ino what the hell was all that about?" Sakura asked first.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't ask me why he was acting so weird. I have no idea what the hell goes on in that crazy brain of his."

"No." the pink haired female shook her head. "I mean what was that back there. Did we really just see Naruto of all people ask you out? It doesn't really make any sense."

Ino paused. She knew that this would probably happen. She was trying to make Naruto understand that they needed to plan this out carefully. Ino knew that she had to salvage this mess somehow.

"Yeah I mean I thought that he liked Sakura still." TenTen said.

"Well maybe he decided to try his luck with other girls. It doesn't seem that forehead was willing to give him the time of day. So you can't really blame him for setting his sights on someone as beautiful as me." She spoke in a confident tone.

Sakura put her hand up to her chin as she seemed to be in deep thought. "No." she shook her head. "No that doesn't sound right."

Ino's eyes turned white as she fell to the ground. How dare Sakura make a rude comment like that?

"Oh…Ino-chan are you okay?" Hinata questioned as she helped the blond up.

"Hai I'm fine. What was that forehead! Are you saying that I'm not good enough for Naruto? Well if he's really all that great, maybe I'll just give him a chance."

She looked at the expression on the other three teens faces. It was hard to tell what each of them were thinking. But at the same time she felt that she had control of the situation again.

"_There I think that takes care of that." _She thought. "I have to go. I'll see you guys around."

"Right later Ino." They all waved.

The blond teen breathed a sigh of relief. She felt better that she had managed to at least fix a bit of the damage that Naruto had caused.

"Damn him for causing such a scene."

Although she hated to say it she had to admit that it was very sweet of him to give her flowers. And she could definitely say no boy had ever jumped off a roof for her. She couldn't help but to feel just a little flattered, even if it had all been for show.

"I knew that this wasn't going to be boring but I wasn't expecting him to give me flowers, or for him to come falling down a roof. I need to talk to him." She decided.

* * *

That night the blond girl found herself outside of Naruto's window. She had to do some asking around to find out where he lived though, other than that it wasn't that much of a challenge. She peeked inside to see him fast asleep. She tapped on the window he remained asleep.

"Damn he looks like he sleeps like a rock."

She tapped on his window hoping that he would hear her. Naruto only shifted in his sleep not bothering to wake up. "Naruto you idiot wake up!"

Ino tapped harder this time. Naruto turned around opening his eyes. He turned his attention to the window. "What the?" he blinked running the sleep out of his eyes. He was trying to make sure that he was really seeing Ino out there. He got up and opened the window.

"Ino?" He yawned. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

Ino came into his apartment leaning herself up against the window sill.

"I came to talk to you." She stopped when she saw the black night cap that he was wearing. "What the fuck is that on top of your head?" she pointed.

"It's what I always sleep in."

"And here I thought that your fashion sense couldn't get any worse. You've managed to out due yourself this time for real."

Naruto found that he was too tired to reply back to her at that moment. Another yawn escaped him. "Maybe I'm dreaming. Okay dream version of Ino I'm going to sleep now. You can see yourself out."

She sighed heavily before hitting him in the back of his head.

"Damn that felt real." He groaned in pain.

"Are you up now you moron? Do you finally realize that this isn't a dream?" She shouted.

Naruto nodded as he sat down again. He could see that there would be no sleeping for him, not as long as Ino was standing there. He thought that it would be best to just let her talk.

"It's more like a nightmare." He muttered.

"What was that?"

"Um nothing Ino-chan what did you want to talk about?"

"I just thought that I should let you know that I managed to fix some of the damage you caused earlier. I still don't know what the hell was going through your mind. You took it way too far. Sakura and the others were completely unconvinced by your display."

Naruto smiled apologetically up at her.

"Uh I'm sorry." He shrugged his shoulders. "So what happened after I left?"

"Well after we had out little confrontation. Sakura was curious to say the least. I tried to suggest that you asked me out because you wanted to try your luck with other girls. You know maybe play the field a little. Also I might have mentioned how beautiful I am." She spoke in a slightly amused tone.

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say." Naruto brushed off that last comment. "Then what happened?"

"Hold on I'm getting to it."

"Come on Ino-chan you woke me up at least finish the story sometime tonight."

Ino pouted resisting the urge to hit him upside the head repeatedly.

"Anyway to make a long story short I ended up telling them that I might consider giving you a chance?"

The spiky headed blond fell over landing on the floor.

"Get up you idiot. I saved our plan from being completely destroyed."

"Eh Ino-chan I don't get it. How did saying that save things."

"Don't you get it? I said that I might give you a chance. Now all you have to do is ask me out again and after some persuasion I'll say yes. Then we can really start putting this "relationship" into action got it."

Naruto nodded as he realized everything that Ino had explained to him.

"Okay Ino I got it."

"Good well I'm going to go home now. You seem to understand what to do. I'll see you around."

Naruto rose to his feet as Ino was leaving.

"Hey Ino wait up. I'll walk you home."

She blinked curiously turning around to face him.

"No really you don't have to." She tried to convince him.

"Yeah I know but it's late. It's not that big of a deal I'll walk you. Besides if we want to be convincing we have to spend some time together don't we." He asked her as he put on his jacket.

"Yeah you're right. Thank you though."

"Sure no problem." He gave her a smile.

There was an awkward silence as they walked to Ino's house. It was mainly because neither one of them knew what to say at that moment. After awhile Ino decided to speak up.

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah?" he asked turning his attention towards her.

"Those flowers they were beautiful. You didn't really have to give them to me."

"I'm glad that you liked them Ino-chan. It was all a part of the plan. I guess I didn't screw up everything huh?"

"No I guess not. Just promise me no more crazy ass stunts like that."

"Ha." He laughed. "I promise nothing."

"Yeah figures he would say something like that." She rolled her eyes.

The two blonds came to a stop in front of Ino's house.

"Alright Ino-chan home sweet home I guess."

"Yeah thanks again Naruto so I guess….."

Before Ino could say anything someone's voice was heard. This caused the both of them to turn around.

"Ino what are you doing with Naruto at this time of night?"

**A/N: Oh cliffy. I wonder who saw them. R and R plz.**


	4. I didnt sign on for this

Ino held her mouth open as she tried to think of some sort of excuse. She needed something and she needed it quick. Naruto simply ran his fingers through his hair.

"Shikamaru it's nothing really." Ino said.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "Its not like we were planning some type of secret meeting or anything." He shouted out loud in a nervous tone.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to the both of them. Ino quickly grabbed Naruto putting her hand over his mouth.

"Idiot." She muttered in his ear. She then looked up at her black haired teammate. She then smiled for him. "Naruto was just walking me home. We um had a mission together." She quickly lied. "So you know Naruto here always the gentleman. He offered to walk me home. Isn't that right Naruto?"

"Yeah." He mumbled due to the fact that she still had her hand over his mouth. Ino let him. Shikamaru stared between the two of them.

"Whatever." He sighed. "Anyway I have to get this stuff home to my mom. You know how much she nags."

"Yeah." Ino nodded. "We'll see you around Shika."

"Later Shikamaru." Naruto spoke.

If Shikamaru had any other suspicions he did not voice them. He only continued on his way home. Once he was gone the platinum blond turned her attention to Naruto.

"Way to go Naruto. You might as well have told him everything, and save us the trouble of our plan having been found out by everyone."

"Sorry Ino-chan I got nervous."

"Shikamaru is smart so he most likely had his suspicions about seeing us together. He probably won't say anything though. He'll be back to watching his clouds and playing Shoji in no time."

Naruto just figured that he'd better leave now before there were any other surprises. Besides there was some sleep that he needed to catch up on.

"Okay well goodnight Ino-chan." He yawned. "I'll see you around."

"Right." She agreed. "Later."

As Ino approached the door to her house to her surprise it was instantly opened. An older blond haired woman appeared at the door. Naruto could tell that she was obviously Ino's mother. They looked too similar to not be of some sort of relation.

"Oh Ino-chan you're home I thought that I heard your voice." She paused when she saw Naruto. Suddenly a smile appeared on her face. "Oh were you on a date?"

"What! No mom I wasn't."

"Don't be so rude invite your handsome friend in."

"But I…." Ino started.

Naruto blinked as he tried to think of something to say. He needed to get out of this and fast.

"Mrs. Yamanaka thank you for the offer. But its fine you don't have to invite me in. I was just making sure Ino-chan got home safe. And now that she's here I should probably be on my way. Goodnight."

Before he could get any further Mrs. Yamanaka grabbed a hold of his arm. Ino felt like slapping herself upside the head. Was this really his idea of getting out of here fast? Saying what he just said would only make her mother want him to come in more.

"Nonsense you were very sweet in making sure that Ino got home safely. Come I insist."

Naruto could not protest as he was now being dragged into the house. Ino sighed heavily as she followed behind the two of them into the house.

"This probably wont end well." She whispered.

"You just have a seat and I'll go make us some tea and dango."

"Um Mrs. Yamanaka would you like some help?" the young man offered.

The older blond haired woman turned to face Naruto. She looked almost stunned as if she couldn't believe he had even offered. Or rather it was as if she wasn't at all used to a young man being polite.

"Handsome and polite well he's definitely an upgrade from the last boy I met. Wouldn't you agree Ino-chan?"

"Um yeah sure mom."

"So does this handsome, polite young man have a name?" She questioned.

"It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Alright Naruto." She smiled. "Don't you worry about helping me? You just sit and here and make yourself at home."

Ino sat down across from Naruto at the table. She waited until her mother left before turning her attention on to him.

"Listen up when my mother gets back you need to make up some sort of excuse. Any kind of excuse I don't care what it is. Just tell her that you have to leave."

"Yeah, yeah that's all good Ino-chan but what exactly am I supposed to say to her. She seems pretty persistent." He noticed.

Ino was about to say something when footsteps were heard. She saw not only her mother but her father as well.

"_Oh shit_." She thought.

Her father was bound to scare Naruto shitless. She sort of felt bad for him now. He wasn't even her boyfriends and her father would definitely start giving him the third degree. According to Inoichi all boys were considered guilty until proven innocent. And even after that they could only be trusted to a certain extent. Bottom line no boy was good enough for his princess right now.

"I thought that I heard voices Ino, princess why don't you introduce me to your friend." Inoichi spoke his eyes never leaving Naruto.

Naruto gulped at the serious look in Mr. Yamanaka's eyes.

"_Oh hell please don't let him kill him. Don't let him kill me_." Naruto thought.

"Sure daddy. Naruto Uzumaki this is my father Inoichi Yamanaka. Naruto say hi."

"Hm." He nodded. "Hi…Hello Yamanaka-san." He managed to get the words out. Naruto then bowed before the elder male.

"See honey isn't he polite. Why don't you have a seat and we can all enjoy some tea and dango." Mrs. Yamanaka seemed cheerful.

Inoichi simply nodded as he sat down at the table. Naruto felt more and more uncomfortable by the minute. He was sure he that he hadn't felt such tension in a long time.

"Would you like some dango Naruto?" Ino's mother asked.

"Um…um sure." He mumbled as he took some dango off the plate. Inoichi took a sip of his tea before looking over to where Naruto was sitting.

"So Naruto what are your intentions with my daughter."

"In…Intentions?"

"Yes your plans. Was this a one time thing? Or do you intend to date my daughter."

Ino tried to get his attention by kicking the whisker faced boy underneath the table.

"Oww." He exclaimed.

"Don't worry daddy. Naruto doesn't have any plans period isn't that right Naruto. In fact we weren't even on a date at all were we?" she asked with a serious look in those aqua colored orbs.

"Oh Ino-chan don't be embarrassed. If you were on a date it's perfectly okay." The older woman told her daughter.

"Well." Inoichi started. "If it was a date I do hope that you were nothing but a complete gentleman Naruto; because if you weren't there could very well be consequences."

Naruto did not like look in Inoichi's eyes. That was it he had to get out of there right now before he was suddenly a dead man. The blond male immediately stood up.

"Yamanaka-san I promise you on my love ramen that nothing inappropriate happened between Ino and me. I wouldn't treat her that way. And um….um now I really have to go. I've got a busy day tomorrow you know how it is. A shinobi's work is never done you know." He laughed. "Thank you Mrs. Yamanaka for the dango goodnight."

He bowed once more before heading to the door.

"Goodbye Naruto hopefully we will get to see more of you."

"Yeah." He nodded. _"If Mr. Yamanaka doesn't kill me first."_

"Wait up Naruto I'll walk you out." Ino called after him.

Inoichi waited until both Ino and Naruto were gone before he spoke again.

"Strange one that boy he seems okay, a little anxious though."

"Well dear you can be very intimidating what did you expect?" his wife asked.

"Hm. I only want the best for out princess you know that."

"I like him dear. He's very polite he could very well be good for Ino. Perhaps you should give him a chance."

"Maybe." He thought.

* * *

Ino grabbed a hold of Naruto trying to stop him from taking off. She wanted to at least get the chance to apologize to him.

"Naruto wait a moment."

"Oh hell no. when I signed on for this I didn't ask for your father to offer to break every bone in my body and kill me." He shouted.

"I'm sorry." She nodded. "My father is…well he's just a little overprotective. But don't worry he wont hurt you…um hopefully."

"Hopefully." He repeated.

The platinum blond just shot him a smile.

"Don't worry its not like you're my boyfriend or anything. You'll most likely never have to talk to my father again. We're only doing this to convince other people that we're a couple not him." she reminded the whisker faced boy.

All Naruto could think about was getting home and going to sleep. A part of him had hoped that this had all been a dream.

"Maybe I'm still at home sleeping." He thought hopefully. "Nah, that's too much to hope for. Ino-chan I'm going to go home okay. I'm tired and I really need to sleep."

"Yeah, hey Naruto I was thinking that we should give it to a few days time before you ask me out again."

"Alright that's fine."

"Okay. Goodnight Naruto."

"Night."

Ino waited until he was completely gone from sight before heading back inside. She had to admit that given the circumstances Naruto handled him self well. He seemed to impress her mother that's for sure.

"He did pretty good at least he'll be prepared when he meets forehead's parents."

Her parents looked up when she entered the living room. They appeared to be in deep conversation.

"What's wrong?" Ino wondered.

"Ino you're father and I have decided that we want you to invite Naruto over for dinner."

"Eh?" she looked surprised. "Um mom, daddy Naruto and I…."

"Oh so he is you're boyfriend." Mrs. Yamanaka smiled widely. "I knew it. He'll be good for you I can tell."

"No mom you don't understand."

"Boyfriend or not if you're going to be spending time with Naruto; I still want the chance to get to know him okay Ino." Mr. Yamanaka's voice held a serious tone.

Ino figured that there was no use in arguing with her parents. If they wanted Naruto over for dinner then they would have it.

"Fine daddy if you insist I'll ask and see when it's a good time for him to come over."

"Oh Ino-chan is t here any meal in particular that he likes?"

"He'll eat whatever you prepare dear and he'll like it." Inoichi spoke.

Ino didn't even have to think twice about what Naruto's favorite food was. She may not have been very close to him, but everyone knew that he was a ramen addict.

"Make ramen mom. Make ramen and lots of it. Now I'm going to bed if no one minds, it's been a long day."

Ino marched up the stairs to her room. She could literally feel a headache coming on. She was starting to wonder if this so called "relationship" would be stressful like this today. If so then the blond knew that she was going to have her work cut out for her.

"And now my parents want him over for dinner just great. That'll be a night to remember, and probably not a good one at that." She closed her eyes preparing to go to sleep. "Oh well I'll deal with this another time. I'm way too tired to think."

With that being said the blond teen found her self drifting off to sleep.

Halfway across Konoha her blond counterpart had finally made his way to his apartment. Naruto plopped down on his bed placing his hands behind his head.

"Damn this was a long day. First I get in the head not just by Sakura-chan but by Ino too. Then Shikamaru finds us together, and now I think Mr. Yamanaka secretly wants to cause me have a slow painful death." Naruto sighed. "This is either going to help me or send me to an early grave. Oh well this is Ino's plan I'm sure she's got it covered. At least I hope that she does."


	5. Just a friendly bet

**A/N: I am so glad that everyone is into the story so far. I think I'm doing a pretty good job or rather things are going as planned and that's good right. Okay I wont ramble on anymore here is the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and I do not.**

* * *

"So this is it huh." Naruto started as he stared down as his blond counterpart.

"Yeah it's now or never. I'll go in first and you come in later and ask me out; and we'll figure the rest of it out from there." Ino said.

Naruto looked stunned as he opened his mouth wide.

"What! You mean you don't have any idea what you're doing. Ino I thought that you had this whole thing planned out."

Ino shrugged her shoulders smiling sheepishly. Naruto sighed hitting himself upside the head.

"I don't believe this."

"Sorry it's not like we had time to sit and really plan this all out."

Naruto said nothing as he resisted the urge to bang his head upside the wall in frustration. So there was still every chance that their plan could possibly fail. Then again no plan was completely fool proof. There was always room for error.

"Fine lets just get this over with."

"Right." She agreed. "Oh." She stopped turning to look at him. "Naruto whatever you do don't screw up."

"Yeah don't worry. I won't screw up."

Ino raised an eyebrow to him in suspicion.

"Yeah well you should probably have some sort of signal to warn me; if you have something idiotic planned out. I need to be aware of these things."

"I'll cough really loudly if things go wrong." He decided.

Ino seemed to agree to this for she said nothing else to him. The platinum blond entered the restaurant to see most of their friends. She saw Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Lee, and TenTen.

"Hey Ino what's up come on and join us. We were just about to have lunch." Sakura said to her.

"Sure okay." She agreed as she sat down besides Neji and Sakura. The two couples were sitting across from them. "So how are our favorite couples doing today?" Ino asked cheerfully.

Hinata blushed as Kiba squeezed her hand underneath the table.

"We're good you don't have to worry." Kiba nodded.

"I should hope so. I wouldn't want Hinata-sama to feel anything other than contentment when she's around you." Neji spoke in his usual calm manner.

Kiba frowned as he resisted the urge to shout something at the stoic Hyuuga.

"Neji ni-san…Ki...Kiba-kun treats me very well. You don't have to worry." She assured him.

"Good." He nodded.

Ino could feel the tension in the room.

"Okay…well lets order something." She said trying to clear the tension away.

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto paced back and forth outside.

"Damn what the hell can I say when I go in there." He thought.

"Yo Naruto." He heard his name.

The blue eyed male turned around to see both Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Hey Shikamaru, Chouji what's going on?"

"Nothing Chouji just wanted to grab something to eat. And since we just got back from a mission I decided to tag along."

"What it's not too troublesome for you Shikamaru." Naruto laughed.

"Hm. Some things aren't always troublesome." But at the sound of the black haired males stomach Naruto smiled knowingly.

"You're starving huh?"

"Yeah." He only nodded.

"So am I." Chouji agreed. "Let's go in already."

The three teens entered the restaurant only to see that their friends were there as well. Ino looked up to see Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji. She smiled to herself. This really couldn't get any more perfect if they had planned everything. Now that so many of their friends were here they could be convincing in front of all of them.

"Hey Naruto, Chouji, Shikamaru come over and join us okay." The blond kunoichi shouted to them.

"Alright geez Ino we can hear you know." Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah but now we're probably deaf in one or both of our ears." Naruto teased.

"I heard that Uzumaki." She frowned.

As the three males went to sit down Naruto decided to take some action in his plan with Ino.

"Hey Chouji do you mind if I sit next to Ino-chan?" he asked.

"No but why would you even want to? I didn't know that you two were that close."

"We aren't." Ino intervened "But if he wants to sit next to me I won't stop him."

Sakura blinked in confusion something was up with those two for sure. They were both just acting way too weird.

"What's with you Naruto I would have thought that you wanted to sit next to Sakura or something?" Shikamaru asked his friend.

It was no secret that everyone knew about Naruto's crush on Sakura.

"Nah it's cool. I want to sit next to Ino-chan today besides someone has to make sure that she eats." He laughed out loud.

The aqua colored eyed teen hit him in the stomach.

"Shut up and sit." She told him.

"Sure thing." He nodded.

Before long barbeque pork, sushi, onigiri, and naturally ramen had been ordered for the entire table.

"Hey Chouji, Shika how was your mission?" Ino asked them.

"It went well." Chouji said threw mouthfuls of pork.

"It was troublesome but we managed to handle things."

Kiba had leaned over pecking Hinata's cheek. She blushed slightly at the contact. The blue haired girl wasn't nearly as shy as she used to be; but naturally she still had some of her previous tendencies.

"Aww that's really so cute." Ino cooed.

Naruto coughed loudly trying to let her know that he was ready to begin. She on the other hand assumed that he was about to do something stupid.

"What's the matter Naruto? Do you need some water here drink." She forcefully grabbed him pouring the ice cold water down his throat.

"Damn you." he thought as he swallowed the water. He let out a breath. "Gee Ino-chan I didn't know that you cared so much. Does this mean that you'll take me up on that date?"

The table was silenced just waiting for her answer. Ino blinked realizing that he had started their plan. It was now up to come up with something.

"I already said no didn't I?"

"Yeah I know but I told you that I wasn't going to give up."

Naruto stood up placing both of his hands on to the table.

"Come on Ino-chan lets go out."

Ino stood up as well staring into his cerulean blue orbs.

"No Naruto."

"You'll have fun I promise."

"Listen to me Naruto the answer is no. we aren't going anywhere."

Naruto pouted folding his arms.

"Why won't you listen to reason? You'll have fun with me I promise."

"No, No, No times infinity." She shook her head ponytail swinging and all.

"Yes, Yes, Yes times infinity and one plus 3 bowls of pork ramen. There now you have to say yes to me. You can't dare go back on the ramen." He smiled.

The platinum blond sighed heavily. This was going on for way too long. It was time to put the finishing touches on to their plan.

"Alright, alright already fine. You can take me out if it will get you to shut up. Pick me up at Friday around 7 and don't you dare be late do you hear me."

"Yes ma'am." He nodded eagerly. "I'll be there I got to go though so I'll see you around guys." The blond male said no more as he quickly jetted up out of the restaurant.

Ino watched him leave resisting the urge to go after him. Instead Sakura had got up from the table first.

"I'm going to go talk to him." She decided.

"What the hell did we just see Naruto asking Ino out?" Kiba spoke.

"Yeah well strange things happen all the time I guess." Chouji said.

"Our friend is just bursting with the flames of youth." Lee's voice held its usual enthusiasm.

TenTen pulled her boyfriend back into his seat.

"Lee-kun shut up okay." She smiled as she kissed his cheek causing a blush to rise to his cheeks. Ino on the other hand had not been paying attention to anything being said. In truth she was curious as to what Naruto and Sakura were talking about. She wasn't really sure why she even cared though.

"Its none of my business he'll tell me later anyway." She decided.

* * *

Meanwhile outside Sakura had finally caught up to Naruto.

"Hey Naruto can we talk for a moment?" she wondered.

"Oh hey Sakura-chan what's up?"

"Well everything's good with me but what's going on with you? Why the sudden interest in Ino-pig?"

"Uh…" he paused. "It's just going to be for one date. Are you jealous Sakura-chan?" he grinned.

The pink haired medic nin paused at his question. She wasn't really sure on how to answer him.

"Um well…"

"It's okay if you are."

Sakura didn't know if she was jealous or not. And even if she was she wasn't about to admit it in front of Naruto.

"No I'm not. I just wanted to see if you were okay. I still can't believe that you asked Ino out."

"_Yeah me either."_ He thought to himself. "Yeah well it's just one date that's all I have to get going. I'll see you okay Sakura-chan."

She only blinked curiously deciding to leave it alone for awhile. when she entered the restaurant she saw that Ino was gone as well.

"Hey where did Ino go?"

"She said something about going to prepare for the worst date of her life, and then she bailed." Kiba answered the green eyed girl.

"Maybe it won't be so bad." TenTen started. "Hell maybe they'll even like each other or something."

There was another pause of silence before Chouji and Kiba started busting out laughing.

"Ino falling for our number one, hyperactive knucklehead nah I just cant see it."

"Well why not? Why is it so hard to imagine. I mean they actually have a lot in common. They're both loud, outspoken, it just may work."

Sakura stood there with her finger to her chin as she appeared to be in deep thought.

"They said that they were going out on Friday right?"

"Hai Sakura-chan." Hinata nodded.

"Well let's follow them and see how it all turns out. I bet 50 ryo that it's going to be a complete disaster."

"I'm with you Sakura." Kiba nodded placing his bet with the pink haired girl.

"It's troublesome and I don't know why this is any of my business. But it could work those two are similar. They may be able to make something out of this date."

"I agree too." Hinata spoke. "I believe that Naruto-kun and Ino-chan's personalities are very similar."

Sakura could see that everyone was picking sides.

"What do you say TenTen you up for a friendly little bet?"

"I think that you hang around Tsunade-sama too much. But hell yeah I'm up for this little bet 500 ryo was it?"

"Yep 500 ryo and the losers have to clean up the winners apartments for a week."

"You're on! So it's me, Hinata, and Shikamaru versus you and Kiba."

"Don't forget about me." Chouji spoke. "I mean I agree that those two are alike but sometimes two of the same can end in disaster."

"Thanks Chouji." Sakura smiled.

"I will have no part in this silly little bet of yours. Its up to Ino and Naruto to decide how far they are going to go." Neji said.

"Lee-kun what about you what's your take on this. And I swear if you even mention anything at all about youth…."

"Heh." He laughed. "I'd prefer not to bet on anything but TenTen-chan you know that I am always on your side."

She nodded because that was the answer that she had been looking for.

"There you have it Neji's neutral, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Lee agree with me. While you, Chouji, and Kiba think that it's going to be a disaster. You're kind of outnumbered Sakura. You sure you still want to go through with this?" the brown haired girl asked.

The green eyed girl just smirked looking very enthusiastic. There was no way in hell she was going to back down just because she was outnumbered.

"I'm game. It doesn't matter about the numbers or the odds. All that really matters is the outcome."

"Yeah you definitely hang out with Tsunade-sama too much."

The group of friends laughed at this. Although it was true Sakura could very well be described as a young Tsunade or Tsunade version 2.0 if you will. Hell even Tsunade junior would suffice.

"Okay that's enough laughter. I think this will be fun though and maybe we can find out why Naruto's acting so weird." The pink haired girl said.

"So everything's finalized are we all in?" Kiba asked as he raised his glass.

Everyone looked around the room raising their glasses as well some with sake others with water.

"Yes looks like we all agree." Sakura started. "Here's to the bet."

"The bet!" all the other voices shouted out with their glasses raised high in the air.


	6. You will enjoy this date

A/n: Okay everyone here is the next chapter. I struggled with it for awhile but I think it's still readable. As always please enjoy.

* * *

Naruto had been on his way to his apartment when a voice stopped him dead in his tracks. 

"So what did you and Sakura talk about?"

"Eh!" he exclaimed. The blond male looked up to see Ino sitting in the tree above him.

"Ino what the hell are you doing up there?"

She jumped down from her spot landing in front of him.

"I knew that you would eventually come through here. I just wanted to know what you and Sakura talked about."

Naruto stood in silence for a moment. He wasn't really sure what to make of any of this. Why did Ino care anyway? It wasn't like it was any of her business.

"She just wanted to know why I was taking you out on Friday,"

"Interesting." Ino said before walking off. Naruto followed after her.

"What do you mean interesting? What's so interesting?"

"All that growing up you did and you're still as dense as ever huh? The fact that she even questioned why we're going out Friday means that she's interested. Hell she might even be jealous for all we know."

"You really think so Ino-chan?"

"Yeah she might be. It's hard to tell what goes on through that head of hers. So we just have to make sure that this "date" goes extremely well. So we can pretend to be a couple right away. That way it will make everyone believe us especially forehead."

Naruto only nodded then gave her a warm bright smile.

"You got it. Ino we can pull this off believe it."

"Yeah let's hope so. Anyway pick me up around 7 on Friday. Don't worry about doing anything serious technically it's not a real date."

"Um sure if that's what you want."

There was a moment of silence. Naruto turned his attention elsewhere and Ino stared down at her fingernails.

"Um I feel like I should say something." He thought.

"I have to run. My mom wants me at the flower shop today. So I guess that I will see you on Friday then."

"Yeah I guess so see you later Ino-chan."

"Later." She waved leaving the blue eyed male standing there. He waited until she was completely out of sight before leaving himself.

"That was awkward." He whispered.

A part of Naruto had always wondered if there was even a point to any of this. Would he get Sakura in the end? Or would he get over his crush on the pink haired female like Ino had suggested.

"Well whatever happens its not like I'll fall for Ino or something." He laughed at the absurdity. "No way will that happen."

Halfway across town another blond had similar thoughts on her mind. Was this really all for nothing? Could he even get over his crush on Sakura? Ino wasn't completely sure why she had wanted to help at first. It did have something to do with the fact that she thought it would be fun to see Sakura's reaction. But now it was starting to become more than that. Spending time with Naruto had made her see that he was a good guy. And he deserved to have what he wanted.

"If he genuinely wants her then it's up to me to step up my game. I'll help him as best as I can." She decided. "Besides it's not like I'll end up falling for him or something." She laughed at the sheer thought of it. "No that won't happen."

* * *

Before anyone realized it Friday had arrived. Naruto stood in the bathroom getting dressed for the big "date". He decided on a black t shirt and a pair of black pants. He looked in the mirror it was certainly a change from his trademark orange. 

"I bet Ino-chan will be surprised that I'm not wearing orange. Heh" he laughed. "She might not even recognize me or something."

He also decided against wearing his headband choosing to leave his hair out and wilder than usual. Yes Uzumaki Naruto was looking his best today and he was ready for his first non official date. He may have been ready but Yamanaka Ino on the other hand was not. She rummaged through her closet in search of something to wear.

"Damn it. I have no idea what to wear."

When there was a knock at her door she looked up and stopped what she was doing.

"Ino honey is everything alright in there?"

"Yes mom I'm just looking for something to wear. I've got plans in a few hours."

At this her mother came into the room smiling for her daughter.

"Oh I remember these times. I used to struggle to find outfits to wear on my dates with your father all the time."

"Yeah but this is different." The younger blond said as she went back to looking through her clothes. "Ha I got it." She picked up a black skirt, a pair of red shorts to go underneath, with a light red tank top and decided on a black jacket to put over her.

"It'll look fine honey. I'm sure Naruto won't care what you wear."

"What? Mom how did you….wait who says that I had plans with Naruto."

"Call it mother's intuition if you want. But I suppose that he'll be coming to pick you up in a little while. You'd better get ready dear."

"Sure." She nodded as she went to get ready for her "date". Ino had to admit that she was curious. She wondered if Naruto had something planned.

"Knowing him he might just surprise me with something. I just hope that whatever it is it's not too crazy."

The blond kunoichi sat down and waited for Naruto to come pick her up.

"Why don't you wear your hair out Ino honey? You look so pretty with your hair down. Naruto will be blown away."

"But mom I don't think…" she wanted to say that it really didn't matter what she did with her hair. It wasn't as if Naruto would even care about how she wore her hair.

"Trust me it'll be fine. I'm your mother you can trust my judgment."

"Okay mom whatever you say."

Ino did as her mother suggested and released her hair from its ponytail. Her long blond locks cascaded around her shoulders.

"You look beautiful dear. Naruto won't know what hit him."

"Yeah, I hope he gets here soon. It's almost 7."

The blond male was making his way to the Yamanaka household. He felt a sudden nervousness run through him. He was mostly afraid of Mr. Yamanaka. What if he wanted to give him grill him with questions again; or worse what it he tried to kill him.

"I'm too young to die." He thought.

"Yo Naruto."

"Good evening Naruto-kun." He heard.

He looked to see Kiba and Hinata.

"Oh hey Hinata-chan, Kiba you two out on a date or something?"

"Yeah something like that." Kiba said as to not give away that they would be following him and Ino around tonight.

"Are you on your way to pick up Ino-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Yep." He nodded. "Oh I better run it's almost 7. I'll see you both around."

"Bye." The couple waved to the blond haired male and waited until he was gone. "He won't even notice that we're tailing him. We can meet up with everyone else later." Kiba spoke out loud.

"But Kiba-kun shouldn't we have asked where he was taking Ino-chan."

The brown haired boy blinked. "Oh shit." He cursed. "Yeah probably oh well I guess we'll find out soon enough and then tell the others."

Naruto arrived at Ino's house to be greeted by Mrs. Yamanaka."

"Oh hello Naruto-kun come in Ino will be right down."

"Alright Mrs. Yamanaka." He nodded as he entered the house.

"Ino-chan get down here okay. Naruto is here."

Naruto looked around in a somewhat nervous manner.

"My don't we look handsome tonight." She noticed.

"Oh thanks Mrs. Yamanaka, um Mr. Yamanaka isn't around is he. You know somewhere waiting to kill me." He wanted to say.

She chuckled lightly. Inoichi could be very intimidating when he wanted to be.

"No he had a last minute mission he won't be home for days."

The young man sighed in relief. He was saved for now anyway. Ino came down the stairs Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. Ino stopped as she saw the handsome boy standing in her living room.

"Ino-chan?" his voice held a hint of surprise.

"Na…Naruto?"

"Your not wearing purple." He pointed to her.

"And you're not wearing that horrible orange."

He frowned as she insulted his favorite color.

"Your hair it's not in a ponytail. You look really pretty like that."

"And wow he really cleans up nicely. He looks hot." She thought to herself. "You look different Naruto but it's a good different. Are those flowers for me?" She asked as she walked over to the blond dressed in black.

"Um yeah here. I…."

"You didn't get them from our flower shop did you? That would have been tacky."

"I know I didn't get them from here. I picked them up myself."

"I'll put them in some water." Ino's mother interrupted. "You two get going and have fun."

"Okay bye mom. I'll be back around 10 or so."

"Bye Mrs. Yamanaka have a good evening."

"Thank you Naruto-kun." She waved as the two shinobi left the house. It was quiet as they walked the street side by side. Ino couldn't stop thinking about how different he looked right now. She would be lying if she didn't say he looked damn good.

"Ino-chan are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine I guess I still can't believe that you're not wearing orange."

"Yeah." He laughed. "And you aren't wearing purple that's a first."

Ino was about to turn to the left but noticed that Naruto kept walking straight.

"Um Naruto Ichiraku's is this way."

"Yeah I know that but we aren't going to Ichiraku's. I thought that we could go somewhere different. Is that okay?"

He was going to take them somewhere that didn't involve ramen. Was she dreaming? If so then someone needed to pinch her now so that she could wake up.

"A problem are you kidding this is great lead the way."

Naruto smiled for her and continued to lead the way. Ino was surprised to see that they were at a very nice restaurant by the name of Yuuichiro's. It was definitely an upgrade from the ramen bar. Ino had to say that she was impressed.

"Wow he really is unpredictable. Sakura is going to be one really lucky girl."

The blonds were seated at a table. Naruto even held out her chair for her as she sat down. She thought that this was very gentleman like of him. She also noticed that the table they were sitting was by the window. It gave them a great view of the flower gardens outside.

"I picked this place especially for you Ino-chan. There's no ramen." He pouted at this. "And they have a nice view of some flowers here."

Ino thought that it was incredibly sweet of him to do this. She hadn't been considering this a real date but somehow he was starting to make her feel like it was one.

"Naruto…" she started.

He looked up his cerulean blue orbs staring into her aqua colored pools.

"Yeah what's up?"

"You really didn't have to do any of this."

"Yeah but it's for appearances right. I had to impress you." He grinned.

"Well this is definitely impressive."

Menus were placed in front of them. But the two blonds didn't know that there were several pairs of eyes watching from the safety of the bushes. Sakura, TenTen, Lee, Kiba, and Hinata were watching. They had a bet going on it was important that they be here for this.

"So what's happening so far?" Sakura asked as she had just arrived.

"Nothing really they just sat down a few minutes ago."

"I don't believe it Naruto's not wearing orange." Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ha yeah I know." Kiba laughed.

"It's a miracle. So where's Shikamaru?" The pink haired girl asked TenTen noticing that he was not there.

"Oh you know this was far too troublesome so he stayed home. He wants to know what happens later though. Speaking of which where is Chouji he should be here too."

"He couldn't make it either something about a mission he had to go on with his father. I guess it's just us then."

"It looks that way."

Meanwhile inside the restaurant Naruto and Ino were eating in silence. No one really knew what to say right now. It felt sort of awkward.

"_Come on say something damn it."_ Ino thought.

"_I don't know why Ino-chan isn't talking. She's always talking."_

The platinum blond looked up staring at Naruto for a moment.

"Naruto?"

"What's up?"

"You have a little bit of sauce on your cheek."

"I do damn."

"I'll get it." She leaned over with a napkin and began to wipe his face. Naruto flinched at her soft touch.

"Hold still alright."

"Hai sorry Ino-chan."

Ino stared down into those beautiful blue orbs of his. She couldn't believe she never noticed how intense and gorgeous they were.

"Was his eyes always this blue?" She wondered as she let him go.

"Thanks a lot Ino."

"Sure."

* * *

"Did you see that? Sakura pointed. "They looked…." 

"Just like a couple." TenTen finished with a smirk.

Lee could not control the happiness that he was feeling. He stood up with his fist clenched.

"Ino-chan and Naruto-kun are just beginning to feel the burning flames of their youth." He shouted.

"Shut up Lee!" Kiba, TenTen, and Sakura pulled the black haired male back to the ground.

"Lee-kun be quiet before we're spotted." The brunette warned her boyfriend.

Inside the restaurant Ino shuddered.

"What's wrong are you cold?" Naruto wondered.

"No it's just a sort of feeling that I had. It felt strange. Naruto do you feel like we're being watched or something."

Naruto took a sip of his drink as he thought more about what Ino had asked.

"No I didn't feel anything strange just now."

"Okay well maybe it was just me then. Naruto when we leave here I think that you should hold my hand."

"Eh?" he jumped back. "I thought that you weren't considering this a real date."

"It's possible that we might run into one of our friends. We have to make it look like we're enjoying ourselves."

"That's true I guess." He nodded. "Okay I'll hold your hand."

She sensed his reluctance.

"Don't worry I don't have any diseases or anything. You'll be fine."

"Oh I didn't mean to…." He paused. "Never mind lets get going okay. There's a special place that I want to show you."

"Alright."

As they were leaving Naruto immediately reached for Ino's hand.

"I don't believe it." Kiba started.

TenTen couldn't contain the smile on her face. She had this in the bag for sure. She didn't even feel the need to follow them around anymore.

"Sakura you should probably pay up that 500 ryo now and save yourself the embarrassment. Come on Lee let's go I think that we've seen enough."

Before Sakura could respond the black haired boy sneezed.

"Achoo." Lee wiped his nose.

"Did you hear that?" Ino spoke.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"It came from over there."

"Oh shit." Kiba and Sakura cursed. Just then the two of them and Hinata jumped back leaving the couple sitting there. TenTen was starting to panic. She then grabbed Lee pulling him towards here.

"Lee-kun kiss me now."

Ino lead the way towards the bushes looking over them to see the couple in a lip lock. Naruto followed behind her his eyes widened as he saw who it was.

"TenTen-chan, Lee?"

"Oh hello Naruto-kun, Ino-chan." Lee smiled.

"Um what are you two doing out here behind the bushes?" the platinum blond asked.

TenTen wrapped her arms around Lee smiling for the two blonds.

"So if I want to kiss my boyfriend behind some bushes then what's wrong with that?"

"Yeah it's not like we we're committing a crime."

Ino sighed as she reached for Naruto's hand. She figured that they should leave now before things got any stranger.

"You guys are sick. You're just sick!" Ino shouted at them. "Come on Naruto lets go."

"Alright. Goodnight you guys."

Sakura, Kiba, and Hinata waited until they were gone from sight before coming back. TenTen had half the mind to curse them out for leaving in that way.

"At least I know who I can count on when things get a little tough." The brunette spoke.

"Sorry, it was Lee's fault anyway he sneezed." Sakura grinned apologetically.

TenTen just rolled her eyes deciding not to say anything.

"We'll just have to wait and ask the two of them how they felt about it. But don't think that you've won just yet TenTen." Sakura yawned. "It's getting late we should probably call it a night"

"Yeah Sakura I think that we pretty much lost this bet. They didn't kill each other, argue or anything at all like that. Hell they were even holding hands." Kiba told the pink haired medic nin.

"I don't know I guess I just expected their personalities to clash or something."

"It's okay Sakura-chan you didn't expect to lose that's all." TenTen laughed as she put her hand on the younger girls shoulder.

"Whatever." She sighed. "I'm going home I'll see you guys later." She waved.

"Later." Kiba nodded.

"Bye Sakura-chan." Hinata spoke.

"Bye Sakura and don't forget when you clean my apartment that includes my weapons. All of my weapons." She added with a smile.

"Okay, Okay TenTen I got it." She laughed at her friend before disappearing into the night.

* * *

Ino found that Naruto had taken her to the top of the Hokage monument. He had yet to let go of her hand. She assumed that it was because he had become used to it in that short amount of time. 

"Naruto you can let go now its okay."

"Oh yeah I'm sorry I forgot." He slowly let her hand go the warmth fading quickly.

"So what are we doing here besides the fact that it's a great view of Konoha from up here."

"Well you remember when you took to your favorite place. This is my favorite place I like to come up here and think sometimes."

"_He remembered my flower field." _She thought. "Yeah I can see why, you do want to become Hokage after all."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Come on sit its still early I don't have to take you home just yet right?"

"Nope." She shook her head as she sat besides him. Naruto laid down putting his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the sky.

"I like watching the stars. When I was little I used to try to reach out and touch them." Naruto laughed.

"Yeah." Ino nodded. "I think that all kids are like that."

"Maybe I guess I just always set my goals kind of high. I used to imagine that I was up there with them. You know what's higher than the stars." He looked suddenly serious. "I'm sorry Ino-chan I'm not making much sense am I?"

"You're making perfect sense to me. Naruto I'm sure that you'll make a great Hokage one day."

The blond boy sat up locking eyes with her.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah I do. Call it woman's intuition." She laughed.

"Um okay well that's good enough for me." He grinned giving her the thumbs up.

There was silence for a moment as Ino turned her gaze elsewhere.

"Naruto lets not waste anymore time. I think that we've done a damn good job of convincing people that we could be a couple. So are you ready to start acting like one as soon as possible."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm more than ready Ino-chan."

She gave him a bright smile and put out her hand for him to shake.

"Then let the games begin Uzumaki."

He smiled back shaking her hand.

"You're on Yamanaka."


	7. It doesnt bother you does it

A/N: Thank you everyone for all the nice reviews. I'm glad that most of you are still into the story. As I said I am doing my best with it so hopefully things turn out smoothly. I just might finish this one if I continue to push myself. Okay enough rambling on here's the next chapter.

* * *

Ino sat down on the bench with her eyes closed as she sat thinking. It was really such a nice, peaceful relaxing afternoon. She found that she could just sit here all day if she had allowed it. Her peace was soon interrupted by the sound of several pairs of feet making their way over to her. 

"So how did it go?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah how did your big date with Naruto go?"

"Was it just the best time that you ever had?" TenTen said.

"Or was it a complete nightmare?"

A pair of bright aqua colored eyes opened. She focused her attention on to her friends. How rude did they have to be right now? Didn't they realize that they were disturbing her relaxation?

"What's wrong with you guys? Why the hell are you asking so many questions?"

"We're just curious you didn't seem too thrilled about the date you know." Kiba spoke.

"So what's up Ino-pig did you enjoy yourself or what?"

Ino could have sworn that she saw a hint of desperation in those jade green pools.

"_Please say that you had a lousy time."_ Sakura thought to herself. She didn't want to lose the bet to TenTen. She hoped that her 500 ryo could be saved. Ino leaned back against the bench. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. They were just waiting for her to give them an answer.

"Well…." Ino started.

"Well what… what happened? Speak already."

"It went well. I actually had a good time. Naruto was a complete gentleman. He was very sweet."

Sakura sighed and TenTen cheered loudly.

"Looks like we won huh guys." She turned her attention to Lee, Hinata, and the lazy Nara. "Pay up Sakura."

The pink haired medic- nin held her head down in defeat. Ino paused while she processed the events in front of her. It sounded like they all had a bet going on.

"What the hell? You mean you guys had a bet going on?"

"Yep." Chouji nodded. "Sakura, Kiba and I betted that it would be a disaster."

"On the other hand Hinata, Lee, and Shikamaru placed their bets with me that it would go well." TenTen admitted.

Ino sat in awe at her friends. Did they have so little to do with their own lives that they placed bets on something so ridiculous? The blond had expected the attention; but she really hadn't thought it would get this far.

"So is that why you and Lee were hiding in the bushes. You were spying on us. You guys really are sick all of you." She added.

"Okay we've already established that, so give us some details. We didn't see everything."

"There's not a lot to say. He picked me up brought me some flowers. We ate at this really nice restaurant, and after we sat up on the Hokage monument for awhile just watching the stars."

"That sounds really nice Ino-chan." Hinata said.

"Yeah." Ino nodded.

The platinum blond could only think of one thing that upset the night. She didn't know why it happened; the only thing she knew was that it wasn't Naruto's fault in the slightest. Only it did leave her wondering.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto was walking Ino back home when a middle aged man had bumped into her. It caused her to fall back. She would have fallen if Naruto hadn't caught her before she hit the ground._

"_Are you okay Ino-chan?" he questioned with his arms wrapped around her waist._

"_Yeah I'm okay no thanks to this jerk."_

"_Apologize to her." Naruto told the man._

_The man blinked. He looked as if he had been drinking or something._

"_Oh I'm sorry sweetness but if you don't mind my asking what are you doing with this monster." He pointed to Naruto._

"_Monster?" Ino repeated._

"_Yeah are you saying that you don't know about him. He's a beast."_

_Naruto frowned slightly. He then took Ino's hand within his._

"_Let's go okay Ino-chan. You should probably go get sober you stink of alcohol."_

_Ino gave the man one last look before she and Naruto walked away. All she could really think about was what he had just said. Once they were away from the drunken male Naruto slowly let her hand go._

"_I'm sorry he knocked you down."_

"_Yeah that's alright don't worry about it. But Naruto what was that back there. Why did he call you a monster? You may have been a knucklehead but you're not a monster."_

_Naruto immediately stopped walking. His back was turned to her as he stood frozen for a moment. He soon turned to look at her shooting her a brave smile._

"_Don't worry about that. Come on let's get you home."_

_(End of Flashback)_

* * *

"_I still wonder what that was all about."_

"What's up Ino why do you look like you're so far away right now?"

"Hm I was only thinking that's all. Anyway Naruto and I had a good time. In fact we're going out again."

TenTen's face seemed to light up at this little revelation.

"Ha I knew that you two would be able to get along. Sakura how do you want to pay me that 500 ryo? Will you be paying in small installments or can I expect you to pay up front in full."

"You'll get your money." Sakura nearly growled.

"You should have never made that bet Forehead. I bet this was all your idea anyway. None of you should have actually it was up to Naruto and me to decide if we would enjoy ourselves."

"You had a good time though we got that. Let it go Sakura you've lost." Shikamaru tried to warn her.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Here TenTen." She reached into her purse taking out the 500 ryo.

"Thanks Sakura let me know if you ever w ant to lose again."

"Oh no there will be no more betting on my personal life. It's rude not to mention it makes you guys look like you have absolutely no life whatsoever. I'm going to go though and see if I can find Naruto. We do have another date coming up."

And with that she left her friends alone to ponder everything.

"You guys what do you make of all of that?" Chouji asked.

"What can we make of it she said that she had fun. Ino wouldn't lie about having a good time but…." Sakura started.

"You still want to ask Naruto huh?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion. Maybe I just might get my 500 ryo back." She thought hopefully.

"Um Sakura I think it's a negative on that one."

"Yeah you're probably right. Anyway let's go find him he should be around here somewhere."

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto stood on the streets of Konoha in a slight panic. There he was so close to the Yamanaka's flower shop and so far away from Ichiraku's. 

"_If I make a run for it maybe I can avoid seeing Mr. Yamanaka."_

He took a deep breath and ran off past the flower shop.

"_I'm home free."_

"Naruto." A deep voice was heard.

"_Oh fuck." _He cursed mentally.

Naruto stopped turning around to see none other than Inoichi Yamanaka.

"He…Hello Yamanaka-san."

"Hm." He nodded. "What's this I hear about you taking Ino out on a date?"

"Um well I…."

"I hope that you were nothing but a complete gentleman son." He put his hand on to the young man's shoulder.

Naruto swallowed hard staring up into those intense eyes.

"Ye…Yeah of course. And it wasn't really a date. It was…."

"So you were only using my daughter."

"What no sir…."

"Daddy?" Ino's voice was heard. She was now making her way over to the two of them.

"Ino-chan you're home I was just having a friendly chat with Naruto here about your date."

Somehow Ino didn't buy that Naruto seemed scared shitless once again.

"Daddy don't scare him okay. We had a great time right Naruto-kun."

"Yeah." He only nodded.

"In fact we're going out again aren't we?"

"Um sure if you don't mind Mr. Yamanaka."

The taller male stood with his arms folded. He stared between his daughter and the second blond.

"Very well I suppose I couldn't stop you even if I tried huh princess."

Ino smiled for her father.

"You got it." Ino nodded.

"Ino talk to Naruto about what we spoke about alright. I have to go now I'll see you in a few days."

"Alright bye daddy."

"Bye, goodbye Naruto."

"Goodbye Yamanaka-san."

Once her father was gone from sight Ino walked over to him. She wanted to make sure that he was okay after his encounter with her dad.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah I'm fine. There's no problem here." He sighed. "Hey Ino I think that we're going to have to plan this better, you know since your father is trying to kill me." He exclaimed.

The blue eyed female chuckled lightly at the hilarious expression on his face. Naruto looked down at her blinking curiously.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing I'm sorry about my father." She apologized.

"It's fine but what did he mean. What do we have to talk about?"

Ino remembered that she was supposed to invite him over for dinner. It wasn't as if she had completely forgotten. She just chose not to bring it up to him. She also hoped that maybe her father would have forgotten. But that was hoping for too much.

"Oh that you don't have to worry about it right now."

"Alright. Whatever you say." His stomach started grumbling. It made him remember that he had been on his way to Ichiraku's.

"I guess you're starving off to Ichiraku's it is then right?"

"You got it." He smiled. "I haven't had any ramen for days since our _"non date"_."

"Days." Ino repeated. "I really didn't think that you could go that long without your ramen fix."

"Ha, ha very funny Ino-chan."

There was silence as the two blonds stared at one another. Ino turned her attention elsewhere and Naruto did the same running his fingers through his blond locks. Ino wasn't sure why she had felt suddenly strange around him. Perhaps it was because her mind was still on the events of their date. She honestly had a pretty good time with him.

"Hey I'm going to go alright that ramen is calling."

"Yeah I'll see you around then."

Naruto waved goodbye and headed towards Ichiraku's. He didn't get far when he heard Ino call out to him.

"Hey Naruto wait."

"Yeah?" he turned back to meet her gaze.

"I just wanted to say that I had a pretty good time thanks."

"Sure I'm glad that you had fun Ino-chan."

"I…."

"Naruto there you are."

The blond male looked to see Sakura followed by the rest of their friends.

"Sakura-chan what's up?"

"Hey I'm glad that I ran into you. I was wondering how your date with Ino went."

"Yeah tell us Naruto. Sakura here seems to be under the impression that your date was a complete disaster." TenTen smiled rather smugly.

Naruto blinked again. Ino sighed and started to make her way closer to the group of friends.

"Naruto you won't believe this but our idiotic friends had a bet going on about our date."

"Really wow you guys are lame. Ino-chan and I had a great time didn't we." He grinned.

"Yeah that's what I tried to tell them. Sakura's just upset because she's out 500 ryo."

Sakura nodded but then put a warm smile on her face.

"Well I'm glad that you two had fun. Naruto Ino said that you two are going out again."

"Yeah we are."

"That's nice. I'm just glad that you guys didn't kill each other." Sakura spoke.

Naruto could see that he would not be getting his ramen anytime soon.

"_Damn what's a guy have to do to get a meal around here."_ He thought.

Ino couldn't help but notice the look on Naruto's face. She then put her hand to his shoulder. This contact caused him to look at her.

"Hey Naruto we better get going."

"Going?" he repeated.

"Yeah didn't you say something about going to Ichiraku's? Let's go I bet you're starving."

"Hai. Let's go then Ino-chan."

"We'll see you guys later. We'd invite you but it's sort of just for the two of us you know." Ino winked. She then linked arms with Naruto.

"Alright see you guys." TenTen waved.

She waited until they were gone before talking again.

"They look so cute together. I'd say that we'll be seeing them together real soon."

"What? You don't… you don't mean that you think that they're going to start dating or something." Sakura exclaimed.

"Maybe they are going out again. I guess that we should just need to leave this one alone. Unless you want to have another bet Sakura-chan."

Kiba put his hand on to the pink haired girls shoulder.

"Sakura I'm advising you against placing anymore bets. You'd lose." He warned her.

"Yeah don't worry. I don't think I'll be placing anymore bets on anything. TenTen is right we should leave this alone. Besides there's no way that those two would ever become a couple.

* * *

**(Weeks later)**

It began like any other day. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The streets of Konoha were busy as always with people walking to and fro. The only thing that seemed to attract any attention was the two blonds sitting underneath a tree. Naruto had his arm wrapped around Ino's waist. She laughed and leaned into him.

"Do you see that?" Sakura asked.

"Yep." TenTen nodded.

"They look really happy." Hinata spoke.

Ino looked up slightly when she saw her friends standing there. She quickly pulled Naruto towards her.

"Naruto what do you think. Do we look happy enough or do we have to turn this up a notch?"

"I think that we look happy enough Ino-chan." He whispered pushing her hair out of her face.

"Well it can't hurt to heat things up a bit. Forehead is standing right there." Ino squeezed his hand pressing her lips to his cheek. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"I…I don't believe this."

"Tell me that those two don't look like a couple right now." TenTen whispered to her.

Naruto wrapped his right arm around her shoulder bringing her closer to him.

"Are they watching?" Naruto whispered in her ear.

"Yep." She nodded.

The blond male paused as he was now inhaling the blue eyed girl's perfume. She smelled extremely good to him like vanilla and flowers.

"_Figures that she would smell like flowers."_ He thought. _"But she smells really good." _He shook his head trying to get rid of those thoughts. He definitely shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that about Ino. They were just partners in a crazy mixed up plan; friends at best.

"Naruto-kun you always seem to make me smile these days."

"Good I'm glad Ino-chan. I'm going to go and get ready for our date tonight."

"Alright pick me up around 8 okay." She smiled for him.

"_Wow Ino is a good actor."_

Before Naruto could leave Sakura followed by TenTen and Hinata came over to them.

"Okay you two what gives?" The pink haired girl asked first.

"What do you mean Forehead?"

"Let's not sugarcoat anything. Are you guys seeing each other or what?" TenTen immediately got to the point.

Naruto and Ino stared at one another for a moment. Both of them smiled.

"Well Naruto-kun what do you think is it any of their business?"

"I don't know Ino-chan but why do we have to hide it? We're having a good time right?"

Ino stood up placing her arms around Naruto's shoulders.

"Why are you bothered by Naruto and me Sakura?"

"Um…" she stopped. "No I'm not." She spoke.

Naruto felt a little down by Sakura's words. He was hoping that she'd be a little jealous over all off this.

"Good I'm glad Forehead because you better get used to seeing us like this. Naruto and I will be spending more time together." She then reached for his hand squeezing it slightly. "Because after all he is my new boyfriend."

"I don't believe this."

"Congratulations Naruto-kun, Ino-chan." Hinata smiled.

"Yeah you guys make a great couple. I figured that this would happen eventually." TenTen told them.

Naruto nodded giving the three girls a warm bright smile.

"Yeah I don't know how it happened either but we're together now."

"That's right." Ino grinned running her fingers through his spiky blond locks.

"Well I have to get going Ino-chan will you be okay. I know that I promised to walk you home but I really have to get going."

"I know its fine. See you around okay." Ino then hugged her _"boyfriend"_.

As he was leaving Ino remembered that she had yet to tell him about dinner with her parents. What better time than to tell him now in front of their friends. It made their _"relationship"_ seem more believable too.

"Oh Naruto-kun don't forget we're having dinner with my parents soon."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks eyes turning white. He turned around facing the platinum blond.

"Um what did you say?"

"We're having dinner with my parents. They do want to get to know you better. So what time would be good for you huh Naruto-kun?"

"_Dinner with the Yamanaka's, dinner with Mr. Yamanaka oh fucking Kami."_

And all Naruto saw was stars as he fell to the ground with thoughts of his impending doom on his mind.


	8. Dinner with the Yamanaka's

**A/N: I am so sorry that this is so late. I would have had it up sooner, but alas things happen. Anyway please enjoy this chapter. I worked really hard on it and it is very long, so happy readings. Oh and all the italics are thoughts.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it Naruto wouldn't wear orange. -**

* * *

"Naruto?"

"Naruto-kun?"

"Naruto wake up, are you okay?"

The four kunoichi stared down at the blond male on the ground. They noticed the rise and fall of his chest, it told them that he was still breathing; and hadn't died from the shock. Tenten tapped him with her foot, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him. Instead he remained on the ground, making no sudden movements.

"Damn, Ino way to go. Look at what you did to him." Sakura said.

"What?" Ino shrugged her shoulders. "I think he took it well."

"So, like what do we do with him?" Tenten wondered.

They couldn't just very well leave him there. Ino decided to take matters into her own hands. She sighed heavily and then lowered herself to his level.

"I'll handle this. Naruto-kun, Ichiraku's is going to go out of business if you don't get your ass up right now." Ino whispered in his ear.

Almost immediately a pair of cerulean blue orbs opened. Ino smirked, she knew he would react to that statement. Naruto sat up, focusing his attention on to the four girls.

"Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, Hinata, Tenten; what happened?"

"You just blacked out." Sakura reminded him.

He sat with his hand to his chin, as he tried to remember the earlier events before this moment. His eyes widened when he finally remembered. He then turned his focus on to the platinum blond.

"Ino-chan, do we have to have dinner with your parents?"

Ino frowned, but she understood his reluctance. It wasn't as if her father was going to make it easy for him. In fact she was almost positive that dinner was going to be very intense, and no doubt uncomfortable for him. She almost felt bad for what might happen.

"_My mother likes him, that should soften things up a lot."_ Ino thought.

"But Naruto you've got to spend time with Ino-pig's parents; especially if you two are going to be dating." Sakura still couldn't believe that those words came out of her mouth. It felt all kinds of wrong to her. Ino and Naruto together in the same sentence just didn't seem right.

"Forehead is right." Ino nodded. "Naruto-kun please don't disappoint me. Do it for me okay." Her eyes shining hopefully. And to make matters worse she had added in the puppy dog pout. Naruto stared at her, it looked like she was on the verge of tears. He wasn't sure of course, but he definitely didn't want to see her cry. Naruto then put on a warm smile for her.

"Okay Ino-chan. I don't want to disappoint you."

"Great." She smiled. "So, what day will be good for you. I want to let my parents know ahead of time."

He thought to himself. What day would be a good day to look death in the eye? Did it really matter? Any day would be a good day to have his final meal; only why did his final meal have to be with Mr. Yamanaka. Naruto decided that as long as he avoided pissing Ino's father off, he would definitely live longer.

"How about Saturday?" Naruto suggested.

"That's fine."

"It'll be okay Naruto." Tenten put her hand to his shoulder. "When Lee met my parents it..."

"Yeah. I bet you guys had an extremely youthful time. And a youthful dinner with very youthful conversations." Ino laughed.

Tenten frowned resisting the urge to slap the younger girl into the next world. Although, it was no secret that Lee could never control his excitement over things.

"Actually, no Lee was a complete gentleman. He didn't mention anything at all about youth, because I asked him not to. It's all about compromise in relationships, but I'm sure that you two will figure that out."

When Tenten said that Naruto and Ino exchanged looks with one another. They couldn't very well say that this _"relationship"_ wasn't real. They needed to keep up appearances. She stood up, helping him up as well. Their fingers becoming intertwined for a minute until they both let go.

"Yeah, well Mr. Yamanaka isn't exactly all smiles and cheerful you know. He's more like I'm going to kick your ass if you look at my daughter the wrong way. He's like, don't even breathe the same air as her." Naruto paused grinning at her. "I'm sorry Ino-chan."

She wasn't in the least bit offended. She understood why Naruto had said what he said. Her father was known to be a bit on the protective side.

"That's alright I understand. Come on Naruto walk me home."

"Sure thing. Bye Sakura-chan, Hinata, Tenten."

Ino wished that she could reassure him that dinner was going to go smoothly. Only she knew that there wasn't much she could say to ease his mind. Whatever was going to happen on Saturday would happen regardless.

"Hey, I'm sorry about springing the whole dinner thing on you like that." Ino apologized.

"Yeah you could have given me some warning."

"Well, at least now they really believe that we're together. That was the goal right?"

"Yeah. But Sakura-chan didn't seem to care very much."

"It's hard to tell with her. Like I said, she could just be hiding her jealousy."

"Maybe." Naruto whispered.

"Don't be so down." She spoke as she put her hand to his spiky blond head. "I'm sure everything will work out."

Ino wanted to be optimistic about the situation. Hopefully things would turn out the way that Naruto wanted. She really didn't want this all to be for nothing.

"Hold my hand okay. Everyone thinks that we're a couple now. So we definitely have to keep up appearances."

"Hai Ino-chan you're right. If it weren't for that, I'd say that you really like holding my hand." he laughed.

The platinum blond froze. Why had his words affected her for that moment. Ino soon regained her composure.

"Ha, yeah right. You're lucky that I'm even allowing you to hold my hand."

"Yeah." He grinned. "It figures you would say something like that."

Naruto immediately let her hand go when they approached her house. The last thing he wanted was to have Inoichi see this little display. He could just imagine the look on the older man's face. All hell would definitely break loose.

"Naruto, it's okay my father isn't around."

"Yeah." He laughed nervously. "Well, for all I know he could be lurking in the shadows, just waiting for the chance to strike."

Ino raised an eyebrow to him. "Now you sound paranoid. Cut it out."

"Hey, excuse me for trying to live."

"My mom likes you a lot. Isn't that all the confidence you need to get through dinner."

Mrs. Yamanaka was nice. He liked Ino's mother a lot. She seemed like a calm, reasonable person. He could handle dinner a lot better since she would be around.

"Hey, how about just you, me, and your mom have dinner. That sounds perfect to me."

"Naruto. We eat, we talk for awhile, and then you can leave. It's not that complicated."

"I guess I'm a little nervous." He admitted. "I've never had dinner with a girl and her parents before."

"Think of it as practice for when you and Sakura start going out. At least you'll know what to expect."

Naruto wondered why Ino had seemed so confident about his dating Sakura. Who really knew what would happen after this whole ordeal was over. It wasn't like she had any actual proof that this would be the outcome. What if in the end he and Sakura only remained friends.

"_Must be a girl thing."_ He assumed.

"Oh, hello there Naruto-kun. How are you?" He heard.

"Hi Mrs. Yamanaka, I'm doing okay. Hey do you need help with those groceries?" Naruto offered.

"Oh, no that's okay. I've got them, but thanks for asking. What brings you by?"

"Um..."

"He was walking me home mom." Ino interrupted. "Guess what, Naruto said that he'd come over for dinner on Saturday."

A warm smile crept up on to the older blond's face. She was glad to see that her daughter had finally asked him over for dinner.

"Well. It's certainly about time that she asked you to join us. I was beginning to wonder if she ever would." She gently teased her daughter.

"Heh." Ino laughed. "I might have, sort have forgotten."

"That's okay, he knows now. So I'll be seeing you on Saturday, right Naruto-kun?"

"Ye...Yeah."

"And don't worry much about Inoichi. He's a real softie on the inside."

"_Yeah right and Baa-chan isn't really an alcoholic." _Naruto thought to himself. "Okay Mrs. Yamanaka I understand."

"Alright, well I better get these groceries inside. Take care, Naruto-kun."

"You too Mrs. Yamanaka."

Once the older woman was gone it left Naruto and Ino alone once more. The blue eyed girl turned to look at Naruto. He was standing there scratching his hair.

"See my mom really likes you, so don't worry so much."

"Yeah, you're right Ino-chan." He gave her a smile. "It probably wont be so bad."

"It'll be fine."

"Okay, as long as you're sure. Take care until Saturday, if I don't see you before then."

"You too Naruto."

She waved goodbye to him. Ino watched until he was completely gone from sight.

"_Hopefully things will go well."  
_

* * *

Naruto found himself outside of Ichiraku's. He decided that now was a better time than any to h ave a bowl of ramen. Of course, if you were Naruto there was always a reason to have ramen.

"Hey Naruto." A voice called out to him.

He turned around to see Sakura running up to him.

"Hey, Sakura-chan what's going on?"

"Nothing." She answered. "Do you mind if I join you?"

He knew that this wasn't considered a date in the slightest, but a chance to be near the pink hared girl was still something that he couldn't pass up.

"No I don't mind at all."

The former teammates sat down, and ordered two bowls of pork ramen.

"Say, Naruto I was actually hoping that I'd run into you."

"Really? What for? You're okay aren't you?" He immediately worried. Sakura smiled at his predictable behavior. He was always concerned for his friends.

"I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about. I promise."

"That's good." He smiled back.

"Besides, you're the one acting so weird lately. I still can't believe that you and Ino-pig are dating now."

Naruto swallowed his ramen. He knew that he had to say something to her. He could not sit here without addressing her comment.

"Yeah. I guess things just sort of happened. I like her."

It wasn't as if he had told a complete lie. He did find the platinum blond attractive. Besides, spending all this time with her had given him the chance to get to know her a bit better. At that moment though, Naruto didn't know if he meant he liked her as a friend; or if he was starting to like her more than that. He simply wasn't sure.

Sakura was silent, as she ate her ramen. Was she jealous? She wasn't sure if that was what she was feeling. It was definitely more than a possibility. If anything at all she was curious. For as long as she had known Naruto had liked her. It was all just very strange. Sakura couldn't exactly put words to it, but something was up.

"Naruto I...never mind."

Once he finished his bowl, naturally he had ordered another. There was an awkward silence between the two. Naruto was curious as to why Sakura wasn't saying anything.

"Sakura-chan, you aren't talking. Didn't you want to talk?"

Sakura turned to him. She put her hand to his shoulder.

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I want you to be happy. But don't spend all your time with Ino-pig okay." She smiled. "I need you too, you know."

Naruto gave her a warm smile. He then stood up placing his hand on to her shoulder.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm always here for you alright."

"I know." She nodded. "But don't let Ino hear you say that. She just might kick your ass if she found out." Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, maybe."

"No, but seriously I just don't want to lose you completely, you know."

Naruto simply nodded.

"Yeah. I understand Sakura-chan. It was nice eating with you, but I'm going to go alright. Try not to worry about a thing."

"I wont I promise. Take care Naruto."

"You too Sakura-chan."

So, she never exactly said that she was jealous in any way shape or form. Naruto really didn't know what to make of the situation. Right now he could only say that he was confused.

"_I guess that I'll just have to see how this whole thing plays out."_

That night the spiky headed blond tossed and turned in his sleep. He hadn't had such a restless night in a very long time. He soon found himself in a dream.

* * *

**(Naruto's Dream)**

_The blond male stood there with the pink haired girl in his arms. He had just finished explaining the details of his plan to her._

"_Naruto. I still can't believe that you did all of this for me." _

"_Yeah." He nodded. "So, now that you know. What does this mean for us Sakura-chan?"_

_She let him go. Sakura smiled for him._

"_I think that we should be together. Come on Naruto, lets go."_

_She gripped his hand, and started to lead the way._

"_Wait!" A voice was heard._

"_Huh." Naruto froze. He knew that voice all too well. It was a voice that he had grown very accustomed to. He turned around._

"_Oh, Ino-chan?"_

_He saw the platinum blond standing there. She looked completely out of breath, like she had been running to catch up to them._

"_Naruto wait. You can't go with her."_

_He blinked curiously, turning his full attention on to her. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was serious._

"_Naruto?" Sakura spoke. She pulled his arm trying to get his attention. "Come on, lets go okay forget about Ino-pig."_

_Sakura tried pulling him along, but stopped when she felt that he wasn't coming with her. She turned to see what the problem was. And there she saw Ino holding on to his other arm._

"_No!" Ino shouted. "Forehead, you don't get a chance with him, not anymore. Naruto come with me okay. I can make you way happier than she ever could."_

"_No, don't listen to her Naruto. Come with me."_

_The two girls began pulling him in both directions. The blond male was starting to become dizzy from the constant pulling. He didn't know which way to go, or who to go with for that matter._

"_Let me go both of you." He spoke._

"_No. I'm only protecting what's mine." They both said at the same time._

"_Sakura-chan, Ino-chan I can't be with both of you. Or can I?" He smiled._

_Just then two fist went flying and punched the young man in the face._

"_No the hell you can't." They screamed at him._

"_Right. I understand." He mumbled. "I was just kidding."_

_"Very good Uzumaki. Now that you realize that, I guess you better choose." Ino told him._

"_For once I agree with Ino-pig. Choose."_

"_I..." Naruto started._

"_Choose now." Sakura said._

"_Right now Naruto!" Ino spoke._

* * *

With that the blond teen awoke from his dream. He sat up in bed, his bangs falling over in his eyes. A slight sigh escaped him.

"What a weird dream." he whispered.

The blue eyed teen threw on a t-shirt and his jacket. He had a good feeling that he would not be getting to sleep anytime soon. He decided to go out for a walk. All he could really think about was the events of his dream. He walked the streets of Konoha with his hands in his pockets.

"Man, I really can't believe that dream."

He couldn't have feelings for Ino could he? No, that was impossible. She happened to be his friend. And, she definitely didn't see him as anything more than a friend, he was positive of this.

"_Come on Naruto. Snap out of it. It was only a stupid dream. There's no reason to dwell on it."_

It was a cool night, the breeze felt extremely good to him. The air seemed to calm him. Once he felt relaxed enough he decided to head back home. There was no real good reason for him to stay out here. He might as well try getting back to sleep.

"Naruto, what are you doing out at this time?"

"Iruka-sensei." He looked up to see his former teacher. "Wait, what are you doing out here? Isn't it way passed your bedtime." Naruto teased.

Iruka laughed and put his hand to Naruto's head, messing up his already spiky blond hair.

"Very funny Naruto. I could be saying the same thing about you."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto smiled. "But seriously what are you doing out this late?"

"I was at the academy drawing up my lesson plan for tomorrow; and I sort of lost track of time I guess."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"So no hot date, huh?" Naruto nudged him in the shoulder.

"No. I'm afraid not just school work." When Naruto grew silent Iruka blinked in confusion. He wondered what was troubling the young man.

"Naruto is there something wrong?"

"Huh? No of course not. I..."

Iruka smiled knowingly at his former student.

"Come on lets sit and talk." He then led the way to a nearby bench. Naruto didn't speak right away. Iruka stretched his arms out, leaning back against the bench.

"It's a shame that it's so late, otherwise I could treat you to a bowl of ramen."

"Yeah, well maybe next time, huh Iruka-sensei." He spoke in a hopeful tone.

"We'll see Naruto. Now tell me what's on your mind."

Naruto took a deep breath, gathering up all his thoughts. If there was anyone that he could talk to it would be Iruka. He had always been there for him no matter what.

"Iruka-sensei. I kind of need some advice."

"Okay, well I'll be happy to help in any way that I can. What's going on?"

"Alright. Let's say that old man Teuchi had a brand new flavor of ramen out. I'm talking, like an undiscovered type of ramen. And I was thinking of trying it. But, what if I cant bring myself to try it because I'm still stuck on pork ramen. What do I do Iruka-sensei?" He shouted in a slight panic.

It was the only way he could think of to describe his situation. He had never been in this sort of predicament, so it was only natural that he would panic. Iruka only held a bewildered expression on his face.

"Naruto, why couldn't you just enjoy both kinds of ramen. I don't understand."

It was clear that Iruka had no idea that wasn't talking about ramen at all, or rather he was talking about his feelings for Sakura; and his possible feelings for Ino.

"No. Iruka-sensei that's not going to work. I can't have both."

"Naruto, since when have you said no to ramen. No matter what the flavor is. Oh..." The brown haired male paused. It was as if a light finally clicked on in his brain.

"Naruto, this doesn't have anything to do with ramen at all does it?"

"No, it doesn't. It's more like a girl problem."

"Ah. Well if it makes you that uncomfortable, we'll continue talking in your terms. Why are you afraid to try the new flavor of ramen? Are you afraid that you may end up liking it more than you first thought?" Iruka asked.

"Maybe, but I don't know if I even like the new flavor. I think that I'm still into the old flavor. I don't know what to do Iruka-sensei."

"Perhaps, you should give the new flavor..." He stopped again. "Alright, this is too weird. Naruto it's perfectly fine to try new things, and open your eyes to a different experience. Who knows, if you give this girl a real chance; you might be pleasantly surprised."

Naruto looked at his hands for a moment, while processing what Iruka had just said to him.

"Yeah, even if I did give it a shot. I doubt that she would return my feelings."

"Give it some time Naruto. You don't have to make a decision about either girl right now."

"So, you think I should just sit and see how things turn out."

"I'm just telling you that you don't have to rush into anything. I'm sure that the answer will come to you, when your ready. Now I'm going to head home, goodnight Naruto."

"Goodnight Iruka-sensei. Oh, and tell Shizune-neechan that I said hello." Naruto laughed.

"Huh?" A slight blush rose to the brown haired males face. "Um...that is none of your business. And Shizune-san and I are just friends."

"Yeah, okay Iruka-sensei. I'll see you around."

"Bye."

The blond male waited awhile before heading home himself. His only thoughts were on the conversation he had with his former teacher. Perhaps, he only needed to spend more time with the platinum blond, to find out if he really did have feelings for her.

"Maybe Iruka-sensei is right. I should try the new flavor... I mean give Ino-chan a real shot. Yeah, maybe I will." He decided.

* * *

Saturday came quicker than the blond haired male had expected. He found that he wasn't as nervous as he was before. It wasn't like he planned to make Mr. Yamanaka upset in any way.

"_Besides, he can't kill me with Ino and her mother around. There would be too many witnesses." _

Naruto dressed casual, wearing black pants and a blue shirt. He placed his chunin vest on top of the shirt. There was nothing wrong with looking presentable in front of Mr. Yamanaka. He then tied his hitai-ate on his forehead. He thought he looked decent enough.

"_Alright, I'm ready. I better get going."_

In truth, he was actually hoping to be a little early. He was debating on whether or not he should tell Ino about the dream. She most likely would laugh at him, and say that he was being ridiculous.

"_Stop being an idiot. It was only a dream."_ He heard Ino's voice in his mind.

"Yeah. She'd probably say something like that."

The more he thought about it, it was pointless to talk to her. For all he knew the dream could have been just a silly little dream. Not every dream had to mean something. If this was the case, why was his mind telling him otherwise. Why did it feel like it was more than just a simple dream?

"Hey, Naruto-kun. I hear that congratulations are in order." A black haired male spoke. This caused the blond to look up at his friend.

"Hey there bushy-brow. What do you mean congratulations?"

"Congratulations to you and Ino-chan on your new found relationship. Everyone's talking about it."

"Oh." Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, so everyone's talking huh?"

"Yes." Lee nodded. "But Tenten-chan and I weren't surprised in the least. We are very excited for the two of you. Perhaps we can double date in the near future."

Naruto could only imagine what kind of date that would turn out to be. He could imagine the look of horror on Ino's face, while Lee continued to talk about youth. Naruto chuckled to himself at the thought.

"I don't know. I would have to check with Ino-chan first."

"Right." Lee understood.

"I'm going to get going though. Lee, I'll talk to you soon alright."

"Yes. I'm already running a little late to pick up Tenten-chan. I should be going as well, stay youthful."

"Will do." Naruto nodded.

The friends said goodbye to one another, and both boys went their separate ways. Naruto decided he would most likely not tell her about the double date invitation. Then again, with the way she had sprung this dinner on him. Why shouldn't he get a little payback.

When he finally arrived at the Yamanaka's house, he was greeted by Ino herself.

"Hi Ino-chan." He smiled for her.

Ino stood there staring at him. She moved to the side so that he could enter the house. Ino leaned up against the doorway, and waited for him to come in.

"Hey Ino-chan what's going on?" He noticed her hair was down again and she had a blue butterfly clip in it. She was wearing a blue skirt, and a white top. "You look nice, um..." He paused.

The platinum blond was still silent. Naruto knew for sure that something had to be wrong. Since when did she not respond to a compliment. Naruto scratched his hair and then pointed to her.

"Okay, what's up? You are never this quiet, ever." He added.

Ino frowned and was about to hit him upside the head. Unfortunately, her mother had intervened. She sighed knowing that she would not be able to hit him now.

"Good evening Naruto-kun its great to see you. Please come in."

"Sure." He nodded giving Ino another look before entering the house.

"You'll have to forgive Ino-chan. She caught a nasty cold and lost her voice."

"Oh." He nodded in understanding. "Sorry about that Ino-chan."

Ino nodded.

"But, hey Mrs. Yamanaka at least the house will be quiet for a few days huh." He teased.

The older blond woman let out a laugh. She soon regained herself, when she caught the displeased look on her daughter's face.

"That's not very nice you know. Come on have a seat. I'm going to go check on dinner. Inoichi should be here soon."

"Mrs. Yamanaka is there anything I can do to help?" Naruto asked.

"_There he goes being Mr. Helpful again." _Ino thought.

"Well, you can help Ino-chan set the table. I'll be right back.

The moment her mother left, Ino walked over to him and hit him upside his head.

"Ow. Damn it, Ino what the hell?"

The look of sheer annoyance on her face made him remember why she hit him.

"Oh." He grinned apologetically. "I was just kidding...mostly."

"_Whatever."_ Ino sighed. _"Follow me." _She motioned for him to come with her into the kitchen, to retrieve the plates. Naruto was immediately greeted by the wonderful aroma that was coming from the room.

"Wow, it smells awesome in here Mrs Yamanaka."

"Oh." She looked up. "Thank you Naruto, everything should be done shortly. After you two set the table Ino-chan, why don't you show him around the shop."

"_Sure mom."_

The blond male helped carry the plates back to the table, so that he and Ino could set everything up. As she was placing the chopsticks down, her fingers accidentally brushed up against his. She looked up to meet his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Oh, sorry Ino-chan."

"_No problem."_ She slowly pulled her hand back. Only she could still feel that warm feeling there. That warm feeling caused by his fingers. As soon as the table had been set up, the platinum blond led the way to their flower shop. Naruto walked behind her with his hands behind his head. He stared at her with a curious expression on his face. The whole time he kept thinking how unfortunate it was, that she had lost her voice. They could have been having some sort of conversation, if she were able to communicate with him.

Ino, on the other hand didn't know why she was even showing him the shop. Would he even care about flowers? Somehow she doubted it. This would probably be a waste of time. Naruto stood in awe at all the many different types of flowers.

"Wow, Ino-chan so many flowers."

"_Yeah, you got it."_

"Which ones are those?" He pointed to a red flower.

Ino wanted to be able to tell him what they were, and the meaning behind it. But, naturally at this moment she couldn't.

"Those are red carnations Naruto-kun." Ino's mother spoke. "Would you like to know what it means?"

"Sure."

"It means, my heart aches for you, or that you have an admiration for someone."

"Oh." He nodded.

"Ino-chan, help me water these white carnations, and those chrysanthemums. Oh, and after that would you mind helping me finish arranging this bouquet.

"_No problem." _Ino shook her head.

"Hey, I can help water these too Mrs. Yamanaka. I'm not an expert like you or Ino-chan. But I have some plants at home."

"Oh, do you like to garden Naruto-kun?"

"Heh." He smiled. "Sometimes." Naruto admitted.

"Well, that's very good Naruto. It can give you and Ino-chan something to do together. Why don't you water those gardenia's over there." The older blond passed him the water pail.

"Sure thing."

Ino watched with interest, as the blue eyed male handled the flowers with utmost care. It came as a surprise to her. He just didn't strike her as a person who would take an interest in gardening.

"_He always seems to surprise me."_

"Oh, I'd better get dinner on the table. Your father should be home by now. Ino-chan, you can handle the rest of this bouquet right?"

"_Of course. You know that I can do this in my sleep."_ Ino smiled confidently.

"Good, thanks a lot."

Mrs. Yamanaka exited the room, leaving Naruto and Ino alone once more.

"Okay, well that takes care of that." Naruto whispered since he had finished watering the gardenia's. He went to look for something else to do, but became distracted when he saw what Ino was doing. She was standing there finishing up the bouquet, that her mother started. She looked completely at home and relaxed. This was Ino's domain. She was a natural at this sort of thing. She seemed so focused, as she added another flower to the beautifully mixed bouquet.

"Of course Ino is good at this sort of thing. She's probably been doing this sort of thing ever since she was a kid."

Naruto walked over to her, watching closely.

"Wow Ino-chan, you did a really nice job."

"_Thank you." _She nodded.

He looked at her. A sigh escaped him, which caused her to turn to look at him. The blue eyed male then looked up. There was a bright glint in his eyes.

"It's so hard not being able to hear your voice Ino-chan. I got so used to hearing it." He laughed. "I..." He stopped talking. "Never mind let's get back to the table. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Ino followed behind Naruto this time. He led the way back to the dining area. Once there, they were greeted by Mr. Yamanaka. He was already seated at the table. He had his hands folded underneath his chin. His gaze already focused on Naruto.

"Oh, hey there Mr. Yamanaka."

Ino noticed that Naruto didn't stutter or seem nervous. He had either gotten an extra dose of courage over the last few days, or he was simply pretending not to be scared.

"Hello Naruto. It's good of you to finally join us. I asked Ino to invite you over awhile ago."

"Really?" He questioned while looking over to the platinum blond.

"_Alright, yeah so I let it slip my mind. Just sit."_ Ino grabbed a hold of his shoulders and pushed him in the seat.

"Now, now Ino-chan you shouldn't treat a guest that way." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke.

"Yeah Ino-chan you shouldn't treat a guest that way. Its impolite." Naruto smirked.

Ino simply rolled her eyes at his remark.

"Oh, Naruto I made something especially for you. Ino-chan told me how much you liked ramen."

The older blond haired woman placed a bowl of hot steamy ramen in front of him. A huge smile exploded on to his face. He was extremely grateful to Ino right now.

"Thanks a lot Mrs. Yamanaka."

"No problem." She smiled.

Ino closed her eyes expecting to hear the young man immediately diving into the bowl of noodles. She expected to hear the loud slurping sound. To her relief, she found that he was eating like a normal person. He was probably to afraid of her father to not show decent table manners.

"Mrs. Yamanaka this is really good. It's almost as good as Ichir..."

He tried to finish his sentence, but Ino put her hand over his mouth. He should never go insulting a woman's cooking. It was something that should not be done.

"_Idiot."_

"Yes, thank you I could never get it to taste quite as good as Teuchi-san. But that's no surprise after all he is the expert."

Mrs. Yamanaka sat down and dinner was finally underway. For awhile there wasn't any conversation. Everyone seemed to find the food on their plates extremely interesting.

"_Things are a bit too quiet." _Naruto thought.

Naruto noticed that Ino wasn't eating anything. Was it possible that she was dieting again? He hoped not. She didn't even need to diet in the first place.

"Um..." He started.

"So, Naruto." Inoichi spoke. This caused the blond boy to turn to look at the older male.

"Yes Mr. Yamanaka?"

"I was curious to learn more about you? What are your plans? You're goals for the future."

He waited for a moment before answering Inoichi.

"Well sir, my main goal has always been to become Hokage. I've always wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth something you know. And, also I want to protect this village Mr. Yamanaka." He stopped. All eyes were now on him. "It's like, when you have something precious to you; you only want to protect it."

Inoichi looked at the young man for a moment. He could tell by Naruto's tone of voice, and the look in his eyes that he was very serious.

"_Well at least he has goals in life that's a good thing."_ Inoichi thought. "I understand perfectly well what you mean."

"It's a very good dream to have Naruto-kun." Ino's mother nodded.

"Thanks."

"I have another question, Naruto." Inoichi spoke again.

"Ask away sir."

"Where does my daughter fit into all of this? I only want what's best for her. You wouldn't have any plans to just use her and then drop her when she doesn't hold your interest anymore do you? I would hate for something terrible to befall you if you did." There was an intense look in those blue eyes.

Naruto simply swallowed the lump of nervousness in his throat. He knew that he couldn't show his fear now. He turned his full attention on to Inoichi.

"Sir. I have no intentions on hurting Ino-chan in anyway. I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. So, nothing terrible should happen to me, right." He laughed. "Um, speaking of Ino-chan why isn't she eating?" He finally asked his question.

"I'm not sure. I even made her some soup to help with that cold of hers. But she didn't want it." Mrs. Yamanaka answered.

"That's no good Ino-chan." He shook his head. "You have to eat. Mrs. Yamanaka if you don't mind, could I go and get the soup that you made for Ino."

"Sure it's in the kitchen."

Inoichi had to admit that he was curious as to what Naruto had planned. He was actually glad to see that he hadn't scared Naruto too much. He was glad to see how confident the young man seemed. Inoichi didn't want some punk dating his daughter, that was for sure.

"_Either he's really good at pretending he's not scared. Or that young man has grown some balls over the last few days." _Inoichi thought.

Ino just sat there thinking about how Naruto had just spoken to her. He actually had some concern for her. She could hear it in his voice. It actually gave her a good feeling to know that.

"_No. Ino don't think like that. He's not into you that way. He was just being a good friend."_

Naruto came back with a bowl of soup for the platinum blond. He sat down pulling his seat closer to her. Ino raised an eyebrow to him in question.

"_What is he going to do?"_

Naruto took the spoon, and smiled warmly.

"Okay Ino-chan open up, you're going to eat alright."

"_He's not planning on feeding me, is he?_"

"I'll even blow it for you if it's too hot. I don't care if I have to feed you myself, just to make sure that you eat."

The blue eyed girl blinked. She really couldn't believe him. He was showing such confidence in front of her father, by offering to feed her. It was refreshing to hear him talk like this. But, it was all so overwhelming at the same time.

"_He's been so polite, like a real gentleman. My mother likes him. He actually showed an interest in something that's always been important to me. And now he wants to feed me...I can't take this."_

Ino rose from her seat, and ran up the stairs. Naruto blinked in confusion. He wondered if maybe he had done something wrong.

"Um I..."

"Don't worry about Ino-chan. She'll be alright." Her mother promised.

"Yeah. Hey Mr. Yamanaka, Mrs. Yamanaka thank you for inviting me over for dinner. I should probably get going. Tell Ino-chan I said goodnight, okay."

The young man stood up from the table. He started for the door, but stopped when Inoichi called out to him.

"Naruto, wait a moment."

"Yes sir?"

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for being so harsh with you before. I was simply concerned for Ino-chan's best interest. You can understand that, right?"

"Oh yeah. I understand sir. So, then you aren't going to come and kill me in my sleep." He laughed.

"Certainly not Naruto. Inoichi is a real softie once you get to know him."

Inoichi walked over to the young man. He put his hand on to his shoulder.

"Listen son, I want you to know something else. I do not blame you because of the Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing Inoichi's words. In truth, a part of him had wondered what Ino's parents had thought about that.

"That's right dear, we do not judge you because of something that's not your fault." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke.

Inoichi nodded in agreement. He still wore his serious expression, but Naruto found that there was nothing to be concerned about anymore.

"There is something that I believe you should do."

"What's that Mr. Yamanaka?"

"I believe that if you're going to be spending time with Ino-chan, you should tell her about the Kyuubi. It's completely up to you. But, I think that she has a right to know."

There was silence for a moment. Naruto knew that Inoichi had a point. He should probably tell Ino all about the Kyuubi. They were friends, and he did feel that he could trust her with that bit of information.

"Okay Mr. Yamanaka." He nodded. "I understand. I'm going to go now, have a good evening."

"Hm." He shook his head. "You have a good evening as well, Naruto."

Meanwhile Ino sat in her room staring out of her bedroom window. She wasn't sure why she had run off like that. The only thing that she knew was that she couldn't sit there for a minute longer.

"_Heh." _She thought. "_He was actually going to feed me that soup. What the hell was he thinking?"_

She looked down to see Naruto walking away from her house. She wanted to be able to shout something at him, anything at all so that he could look up at her. She sighed knowing that right now she couldn't. Soon the blond male came to a stop. He turned around and looked up at her from downstairs. He smiled for her.

"Goodnight Ino-chan." He told her before heading back to his own apartment. A small smile rose to Ino's face as well.

"Goodnight Naruto."

**A/N: Told you it was long lol. Now Read and Review and let me know what you thought about it. I think it was the best chapter by far, but that's just my opinion. More importantly I hope that it was to your liking. **


	9. Did she just call him baby?

**A/N: Okay guys, so I didn't make you wait too long huh. I just wanted to say thanks a lot for all those wonderful reviews. I'm really glad that you all love the story. This chapter right here, is my favorite so far. Because it's so funny. More importantly I hope you all love it too. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Duh.**

* * *

**(Weeks later)**

"Ow, Ino-chan please not so rough."

"Be quiet Naruto-kun. I can touch you in anyway that I want to. You're all mine now, remember."

Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten paused as they heard the two loudest voices of Konoha. The village's most talked about new couple. The new inseparable duo of Naruto and Ino. You really couldn't see one without the other these days.

"Yeah I know, I belong to you, I got it. But you're going to hurt it, if you keep touching it like that."

The pink haired female's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Just what in hell kind of kinky stuff was going on over there by those trees. What exactly was she touching? Tenten seemed less moved, while Hinata turned a healthy shade of crimson.

"Naruto, quit being a baby. It can't possibly be that sensitive can it?"

"But Ino-chan it really hurts."

Sakura ran over to the two blonds, followed by Tenten and Hinata. She had to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

"Okay." She pointed. "Just what in Kami-sama is happening over here."

Ino looked up slightly confused. She had her hand on to the young man's shoulder. She didn't seem to be touching anything inappropriate. Naruto's appearance was definitely less appealing. He had a slightly black eye, and his arm was wrapped up in a sling.

"Um, what happened to you Naruto?"

"Oh this." He smiled. "I..."

"Did Ino-pig beat you up or something?"

Ino frowned at her pink haired friend and rival. She then took her hand and gently started to stroke Naruto's cheek.

"Unlike you forehead, I'm not a boyfriend beater right, baby?"

"_Baby?" _Sakura thought.

"Hai Ino-chan?"

Tenten walked over to the opposite side of the blond male. She touched his arm.

"I' am so sorry about this Naruto. Does it still hurt a lot?"

"What happened Tenten?"

"Well, its quite a story actually."

"Ooh I want to tell it." Ino interrupted.

"No let me tell it okay Tenten-chan." Naruto said.

"What?" Ino pouted. "But, Naruto-kun I want to tell the story."

"But Ino-chan. I'm the one that looks like this. I think that I should tell the events of last night."

"Let me tell it, please baby." Ino spoke in a heavily seductive tone. The blue eyed girl went back to stroking his cheek. Sakura repressed the urge to throw up, while watching this little display. Naruto could feel his body temperature rising by the second. Why did she have to touch him like this? He closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

"Ino-chan, please let me tell the story."

"Aw, you're no fun. I wanted to tell the tale of doom, hopelessness, fear, and betrayal."

"Betrayal?" Sakura questioned.

"Yep." Ino nodded. "It's quite a story like Tenten said."

The brown haired kunoichi had her hand set on her hip. She didn't care which one of those blond loudmouths told the story, as long as someone started to tell it soon. This was getting to be frustrating.

"Will one of you just tell the damn story already. Before I do."

"Gee, Tenten angry much?" Ino teased.

"Alright." Naruto cleared his throat, preparing to get into story telling mode. "This is a story about..."

"You know." Ino interrupted. She started to run her fingers through his spiky blond locks. "You're not really good at telling stories. I think that I should tell it."

"Ino?"

"What?"

"Please be quiet. So I can tell Sakura-chan, and Hinata what happened; and why I look like this."

"I already told you that I wanted to tell."

"I want to."

"No, I want to."

Sakura and Hinata both sighed. They could both see that this was going to take awhile. They ended up having a seat. This could take awhile.

"Aw, this is so cute your first fight as a couple." Tenten spoke.

Upon hearing this the two blond stopped arguing and looked up.

"What? Don't worry we fight a lot." Ino said.

"Yeah, this is nothing new." Naruto agreed.

"Although, we definitely know how to make up don't we baby."

"Yeah, definitely."

Sakura ended up groaning in frustration. Not that watching the two of them argue, wasn't entertaining. She just really wanted to hear this story some time in the near future."

"Come on you two, someone just say what happened already."

"Okay. Here goes, so this is what happened."

* * *

_Ino stood at the counter of the flower shop. She was bored out of her mind at this moment. She opened up a magazine, and started to skim through it. This was as entertaining as it was going to get. When she heard the door open. She instantly planted a smile on her face. She needed to still be joyous for the customers._

"_Welcome to Yamanaka's flower shop. Oh..." She paused._

_She was now face to face with the whisker faced boy. She was actually a little surprised to see him here. They had no plans as far as she knew._

"_Hey Naruto, what's up?"_

"_Hi Ino-chan. Come on lets go, get ready." He told her._

"_Huh?" She held a confused expression on her face. What the hell was he talking about go and get ready? Who was he to order her around?_

"_Get ready for what? Don't you see that I'm watching the shop."_

"_We're going out tonight. I already asked your parents, and they said that it was okay."_

_Ino sighed to herself. He seemed intent on taking her wherever it was._

"_Alright, just give me a moment..."_

"_No, you look fine. Come on let's go."_

"_You aren't even going to give me a..."  
_

"_No." He cut her off again. "You look okay, I guess, let's go."_

_Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand and led the way out of the shop. Ino was soon able to pull away from him. The least she could do was lock the shop up._

"_At least let me lock up first."_

"_Alright, fine."_

_Naruto stood there while she locked the door. Ino raised an eyebrow to him. She wondered why he seemed to be so on edge._

"_Hey what's wrong? Didn't you get your ramen fix today? You seem a little, I don't know, crazed."_

_Naruto let out a laugh. He ran his hand through his spiky blond locks. Ino couldn't help but notice how cute he looked again. His hair was wild and messy, due to the fact that he wasn't wearing his hitai-ate._

"_No, I'm not crazed Ino-chan. We just have somewhere that we need to be. Come on."_

_Ino said nothing and followed behind her blond counterpart. She had no idea what he had planned right now. She figured that she would just go along with it. She wanted to ask where they were going, only she decided against it. Before long she found that they were outside of a restaurant._

"_Naruto." Ino shouted. "If you wanted to take me out to dinner. All you had to do was say so."  
_

"_Heh." He laughed. "This dinner is actually kind of special."  
_

"_How come?" She wondered._

"_Just come in and you will see." He opened the door for her. Ino stood looking around for a moment. She didn't see anything special about this place. It seemed like a typical restaurant to her._

"_Naruto, what's so special? I don't get it."_

"_Naruto-kun, Ino-chan we are over here." Lee's voice was heard from across the room._

_Ino's eyes widened. She didn't just hear that voice. No, that was completely impossible. She looked frozen, like time had gone still for her._

"_Naruto?" She started._

"_Come on Ino, Naruto, before we order without you." Tenten said._

"_Naruto." Ino repeated._

"_Yes Ino-chan?"_

_"Naruto, this isn't a..."_

_"A double date, yeah." Naruto nodded._

_"Oh, no..."_

* * *

_"_Okay, so you guys had a double date with Tenten and Lee. That still doesn't explain why Naruto looks like that. He looks like he had the living daylights knocked out of him." Sakura said.

Ino now had her arm wrapped around Naruto's shoulder. She made sure not to apply too much pressure to his arm. The boy was still in pain after all.

"Well forehead, if you let us finish the story, you can find out why he looks like that."

"Okay. Please continue."

"Right." Ino nodded_._

* * *

_Ino immediately wiped the look of horror off of her face. She couldn't let her friends see her like this. She took a breath, pulling herself together before walking over to Tenten and Lee._

_"Hey you guys, um, Naruto and I will be right back. We need to have a quick chat. Come on." She instantly pulled Naruto away to another part of the restaurant. Ino let him go once she saw that they weren't within earshot of their friends._

_"Naruto, what the fuck?"  
_

_"Now Ino-chan. There's no need to have such a potty mouth. Do I need to get the soap and water?"_

_"Seriously, why didn't you warn me about this."_

_"Oh, like you warned me about the dinner with your parents."_

_Ino paused. Naruto was taking revenge for that dinner with her parents. She didn't think he would stoop this low. _

_"So this is revenge. Come on Naruto, I really can't stand to have a youthful dinner right now."_

_Naruto chuckled. He then placed his hand on to her shoulder._

_"Now you sound like Lee. Cut it out."_

_Meanwhile Lee and Tenten watched the two blonds across the room. Lee blinked in confusion. He simply didn't get what the problem was._

_"Tenten-chan, what do you think is going on over there?"_

_"Huh? How should I know. You can never be sure with those two."_

_After a few choice words, and a nasty hit over the head. Naruto and Ino took their seats across from the other couple. Naruto rubbed his head, it looked like a nasty bruise._

_"Sorry about that guys. You know how it is when you're boyfriend is an idiot." Ino apologized._

_Tenten put her hand to her chin, and pretended to think._

_"Nope. I don't know what that's like."_

_"Oh, yeah." Ino started. "Well at least my guy doesn't go around shouting about youth every five minutes."_

_"Take that back." Tenten pointed to her._

_"Ladies, ladies please calm down. Are you ready to order?" A waitress intervened. She wanted to stop this before it got physical. After the two kunoichi calmed down the food was finally ordered. Ino figured that she might as well enjoy some good food. Something had to be worth coming out this evening._

_"Hey Ten."  
_

_Tenten then looked over to the blond haired female._

_"Yeah?"_

_"I'm sorry for earlier."_

_"It's okay. It's not a big deal."_

_From there, the two girls were talking and laughing. It was as if they had never even argued in the first place. Naruto and Lee held bewildered expressions on their faces._

_"Heh." Naruto laughed. "Girls."_

_"Yes." Lee nodded. "It is very strange."_

_"Hey you brats. What's going on over here?" A voice was heard._

_The four teen looked up to be greeted by Anko Mitarashi. The purple haired woman stared down at then with a mischievous look in her eyes._

_"Oh no, not you." Naruto sighed._

_"Hey, that's no way to greet me."_

_"Hi Anko-sensei." Ino spoke up._

_"Hey. So whats up? You four on a date or something?" She wondered._

_"Yeah." Naruto answered. "Are you here with someone. Oh wait, it's very doubtful."_

_Anko frowned at the whisker faced boy. She immediately pulled out a kunai._

_"Can it boy. Or I will slice you where the sun don't shine."_

_Naruto gulped. Ino reached over putting her hand across Naruto's mouth. She smiled up at the purple haired woman. She had to save Naruto from getting his ass handed to him by Anko._

_"Naruto-kun didn't mean it Anko-sensei. Please don't slice him where the sun doesn't shine."_

_"Fine." She agreed. "I'm going to have dinner now. I'll see you punks later."_

_Just as Anko left, the waitress placed everyone's dishes on the table._

_"Please enjoy."_

_Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He instantly dug into his ramen. Ino had to admit that the food was very good. She decided then and there that the food was the best part of the evening._

_"Damn, these dumplings are amazing."_

_She looked across from her to see Lee and Tenten feeding each other. It would have been cute, but at this moment she was trying to eat._

_"Ew, gross." Ino thought._

_Naruto obviously had the same thoughts, only he of course ended up saying something. The boy could never learn to keep his mouth shut._

_"Come on you guys. Thats gross."  
_

_Tenten laughed. "Sorry, it's a couple thing."_

_"Yeah." Ino quickly agreed. "Naruto, baby, here eat." She took some of the fish off of her plate. The young woman turned his face to hers. She waited a moment before shoving the fish into his mouth._

_"Whoa, damn that's spicy."_

_He grabbed a drink from the table and quickly downed its contents. He felt like he was on fire or something. He then turned his attention on to Ino._

_"Ino, are you trying to kill me?"_

_"I'm sorry."_

* * *

"Hold it." Sakura interrupted the story.

It was now Ino's turn to groan in frustration. They were never going to finish the story at this rate.

"What is it now, Forehead?"

"All you guys had was dinner. I still don't see what happened to Naruto. Did Mr. Yamanaka really hurt you or something?"

Naruto just let out a laugh. Ino could only frown at Sakura's question.

"My daddy has never actually went through on one of his threats. Well..." She paused. "At least not that I know of anyway."

Naruto swallowed hard. So, did this mean that there was every chance that Inoichi would still kill him.

"No." He shook those thoughts out of his head. "Yamanaka-san is cool now. He won't kill me. At least, I hope he wont."

"Well,..." Sakura asked Naruto. She was clearly anticipating an answer.

"No. Mr. Yamanaka didn't do this to me."

"Yeah. So forehead sit back down, shut the hell up, and let Naruto finish the story."

"Ino-hime, do you want to finish the story?"

"No. You can finish sweetie."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." Ino smiled squeezing his hand within hers.

"Okay." Naruto smiled. "Let's wrap this story up."

* * *

_Naruto wiped the tear out of his eye. That fish was all kinds of spicy. Ino patted his back in a gentle manner._

_"I'm really sorry, okay Naruto."_

_"It's fine. I'm alright Ino-chan."_

_"You guys are so cute together." Tenten smiled._

_Lee sat there drinking his soda, or at least the thing that he believed to be soda._

_"This soda tastes funny. Oh well." He thought._

_He finished his second glass and couldn't help but feel strange. Tenten noticed the dazed look in her boyfriend's eyes._

_"Oh, no."_

_"What's wrong?" Ino wondered._

_Lee stood up, nearly bringing the whole table down with him._

_"What the hell Lee?" The platinum blond questioned._

_"Ooh...my...my head..." He slurred._

_Tenten jumped up from her seat. She grabbed her food as well. There was no sense in leaving good food to danger._

_"Ino, Naruto don't panic."_

_"Don't panic." Ino repeated. "I really don't like the sound of that. _

_"Oh shit." Naruto cursed. "Lee is drunk."_

_A waiter came over to the four teens._

_"Is there a problem?" He put his hand on to the boy in green spandex's shoulder. Lee turned around, punching the man in the face._

_"Move it Ino-chan, or we're next."_

_"But my dinner..."_

_"Take it to go. Lee is crazy strong when he's drunk."_

_The next thing Ino, Naruto, and Tenten heard was the sound of tables being turned over._

_"Oh, no who gave this boy alcohol. I knew I recognized him." a waitress spoke._

_"I knew I remembered that green spandex. Everyone stay back."  
_

_Ino watched in shock and horror, as Lee continued to attack, punch, and kick things._

_"That boy is out of his mind." She pulled Tenten down to the ground. The two of them hid underneath the table._

_Ino turned her friend towards her._

_"Tenten, what the fuck? Control your crazy ass boyfriend."_

_"I can't." She shrugged her shoulders. "He'll eventually tire himself out."  
_

_"And how long could that take?"_

_The two girls turned around when they heard movements. They saw Naruto sitting behind them. He looked scared as well._

_"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here?"_

_"No fair, if you two are hiding, then so am I."_

_"Get your own spot idiot." Ino told him before pushing him from underneath the table. Lee was now busy kicking a wall that he thought was a person._

_"Ah-hah, you can not defeat the green beast of Konoha."_

_Naruto stood up from the ground coming face to face with Anko._

_"Naruto, what the hell is his problem?"  
_

_"He's drunk. You are going to help us with him right?"_

_Anko let out a laugh. "Sorry, kid this is not my area of expertise. Oh, are you going to finish that?" She picked up the dango off the plate and walked away. _

_"Anko-sensei?" Ino shouted. "You aren't seriously going to leave us with Lee alone, are you?"_

_"Yep, bye." She waved._

_Lee's ears perked up when he heard his name._

_"Someone else wishes to challenge me."_

_"Oh shit." Ino whispered._

_Lee was now running over to them at full speed._

_"Lee-kun, no." Tenten shouted._

_Naruto saw that Lee was heading straight for Ino. He couldn't let that happen._

_"Ino-chan." His mind thought._

_The blond male jumped in the way of Lee's fist taking the hit for Ino._

_"Naruto." She went wide eyed._

_All she could do was watch as Naruto took hit after hit. And, he was doing all of this for her. She also noticed that Naruto wasn't even trying to hit Lee back. He was really such an amazing friend._

_"Naruto..." She thought._

_It was then that she got an idea. If she used her mind control jutsu. She could stop Lee from hurting Naruto. Yes it was definitely worth a try._

_"Shinra..." She started._

_Only before she could finish her jutsu, Lee kicked Naruto so hard that he went flying clear across the room. He hit a whole bunch of chairs and tables along the way. The two girls flinched when they heard a cracking sound._

_"Ouch." Tenten whispered._

_"Yeah." Ino agreed._

_"I'm going to go get Gai-sensei. You make sure that Naruto is okay."_

_"Right." Ino nodded before running over to her "boyfriend". She bent down to his level._

_"Naruto, are you okay?'_

_The young man had a dazed look in his eyes._

_"Wow." He mumbled. "So beautiful."_

_And with that he closed his eyes passing out, all the while Ino could not control the blush on her face._

_"Beautiful, huh?" She thought._

* * *

"Well_,_ there you have it. That's the story. Lee totally lost his mind, and beat the hell out of my poor, innocent Naru-kun." Ino said with sadness. She hugged him.

"Ino-chan, please the arm."

"Oh yeah." She smiled. "Sorry."

"So, how was this a story about doom, hopelessness, fear, and betrayal."

Ino looked at Sakura as if she had asked the dumbest question in the entire universe.

"Forehead weren't you listening. The story had all those elements. Doom, because we were all doomed the moment Lee had a drink. Fear, because he was scary as all hell. Hopelessness because, well the situation looked hopeless from the beginning. And lastly, betrayal because Anko-sensei totally betrayed us by leaving." Ino explained.

"Yeah." Tenten nodded. "When I see that purple haired, dango stealing..." She paused.

"It's okay Tenten-chan, calm down. What can you really expect from that crazy woman." Naruto told her.

"Thats true." everyone agreed.

Naruto let a sigh escape him. He closed his eyes for a moment. Ino continued to massage his shoulder for him. He knew that she was doing this simply for show, but it would be a lie if he said that it didn't feel nice.

_"_Hello..." Lee hiccuped. "How are all of you on this extremely youthful day.

Instantly blue eyes popped open. He stared at Lee with a panicked expression. Lee had just hiccuped. Was he drunk again? In an instant Naruto was on his feet.

"Oh hell no. Come on Ino-chan, let's get the hell out of here. He's drunk again."

"Huh?" Lee seemed confused_._

"Um its okay Lee-kun. Don't worry about it." Tenten smiled for him.

"Fuck no Tenten. I am not getting hurt again. Ino..." he turned to his "girlfriend".

"It's okay Naruto. Lee just has the hiccups. He isn't drunk."

"Oh good." Naruto sighed in relief.

Lee only seemed more confused than ever. But he shrugged his confusion off. Suddenly, as if a light off in his head. He turned towards his _girlfriend._

_"_Oh yeah. Tenten-chan, I've come to say goodbye."

"Good...Goodbye." Tenten questioned in shock.

"Ooh, things are about to get real juicy eh, Naruto-kun?" Ino whispered in his ear.

"Hm.'" Naruto nodded.

Sakura and Hinata sat there paying attention too. Were they all about to witness the official Lee and Tenten break up. Was that the thing that would be happening today. Ino couldn't wait for the fireworks.

"Yes, goodbye." Lee repeated_._

"What the hell do you mean by goodbye? I gave you the best year and a half of my life. Do you realize who I could have chosen instead of you."

"Hey Ten,calm down."

"No." She shook her head. "I will not calm down. I have the right to be angry. Listen here Rock Lee." She pointed to him. "You picked the wrong kunoichi to break up with."

"Oh, no Ten's going to lose it." Ino spoke.

Lee opened his mouth to say something. Only he couldn't because of Tenten's rant. The young woman kept going on and on. There seemed to be no end in sight.

"And furthermore Mr. Youthful..."

Lee silenced her by putting his finger to her lips.

"Tenten-chan you are not behaving very youthful today. I am not breaking up with you. I was just saying goodbye, because I'm leaving for a mission."

"Oh..." Tenten calmed down drastically. "Well, if that's the case I'm going to miss you Lee-kun." She reached up and hugged her boyfriend.

Ino was slightly disappointed. She had expected some big fireworks. Unfortunately, nothing had really happened; except for a big misunderstanding. After a long tearful goodbye, a kiss, and a youthful moment Lee was on his way.

"Well, now that, that little ordeal is over. There had to be something good about the evening?" Sakura wondered.

Tenten, Naruto,and Ino thought about it for a moment. They looked at each other and nodded. It was like they were all thinking the same exact thing.

"The food." They all agreed.

"Oh, yeah the food was amazing." Ino smiled.

"Yeah. I'm telling you that food was to die for."

"Yeah. But we'll never get to have it again. We were banned from the restaurant, remember. So we can't ever go back." Naruto reminded them.

"Oh, that's right." They sighed in disappointment.

It was all thanks to Lee, they would never be able to go back to that restaurant again. They probably wouldn't even be able to walk passed the place without receiving looks.

"Damn you Lee." They all thought.

"Well, I'm going to help Naruto get home. You know, with his bad arm and everything. We'll see you guys later. Oh, and Tenten stay youthful." Ino teased the brunette.

"Very funny Ino- dattebayo."

"Hey." Naruto exclaimed. "That's not funny."

"Yeah it kind of was." Sakura laughed. "Bye you guys."

"Bye." The "_couple_" waved.

For awhile they walked insilence side by side. Ino had to admit that they were convincing in front of their friends just now. She was more sure than ever that they could pull this off.

"Hey." She started.

"Hai, Ino-chan?"

"Your arm." She started. "Does it hurt a lot still?"

In truth he wasn't even really in that much pain. Kyuubi of course had something to do with that. Only, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to tell her about it.

"Um, yeah its killing me." He lied.

"Yeah." she nodded. "Lee gave you quite the thrashing huh?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "Lee was always strong you know, but when he's drunk he's like a million times worse."

Ino probably would have never believed it, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

"I never got to thank you."

"For what?" He wondered.

"For getting in the way, and taking all those hits for me. You really didn't have to."

"What kind of guy would I be if I let you get hurt."

Ino went to say something else, but stopped herself. She also wanted to talk about when he called her beautiful. The moment right before he passed out. She was probably a little nervous about bringing it up. What if he hadn't meant it? What if he had forgotten all about it. He was most likely confused or something.

"Oh, hey its you guys." Anko's voice was heard.

"Anko-sensei?"

"Damn kid, you look a little banged up. I'm guessing you didn't survive last night."

"No thanks to you." Naruto reminded her.

"Heh." She shrugged her shoulders. "I told you that wasn't really my thing."

"Oh, but stealing other people's food is? You owe us some money."

Anko let out a guilty laugh. There was no way in hell she was going to be paying them out of her pockets. "No way you brats. I'm not paying you anything."

"Oh yeah. Well wait until Ibiki-sensei finds out. Or better yet I'll tell Tsunade-sama. She wont be too thrilled when she learns that you left four defenseless teens alone. In a highly dangerous situation at that." Ino told her.

"Hardly." She laughed. "You two are not defenseless. But I rather not have Tsunade-sama on my ass about this nonsense. I'm sure you would spin this story to your advantage. So, here." She went into her pocket and took out some ryo. Anko muttered something about "stupid, blond children" before walking away. Ino laughed.

"That was really cool, Ino-chan."

"Yeah. I'm actually surprised that she went for it. She probably was bored of us, and couldn't wait to get out of here, or something."

"Yeah, probably." Naruto agreed.

"Oh shit. I have to be at the shop again today. I'm sorry Naruto, I wanted to make sure that you got home okay. You know with your bad arm."

Naruto really appreciated the platinum blond's concern.

"I'll be fine, trust me." He t tried to reassure her.

Ino slowly nodded. Although, she had to admit that she was rather worried about her whisker faced friend.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. But be careful okay. You're arm should be better soon though."

"Thanks I will Ino-chan. Take care okay."

"I will..." She smiled for him. "If you need anything..."

"I know." he nodded.

"Okay, bye." she waved to him.

Naruto stared after her until she was gone from sight. A sigh escaped the young man.

"I want to tell you about Kyuubi, Ino-chan. It's just that I'm not ready yet."

With that the young man turned around and headed to his own apartment; with thoughts of Ino and the Kyuubi on his mind.

**A/n: Read and Review plz.**


	10. What's the deal with those two?

**A/N: Okay. So here I am with the next chapter. I re wrote this a whole lot of times, and I still wasn't completely satisfied. I am sorry for that. I hope that you enjoy anyway. Also, this has nothing to do with the story. But I think that we should all take a moment to think of the victims in Myanmar and China. And to everyone who may have family over there, with everything that has happened in their countries. Thanks. Now I wont ramble on anymore. Here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto let out an uneasy sigh. This was it. Today was the day that he would tell his friend about the Kyuubi. He was more than just a little nervous. He was worried about how Ino would react to his news. Was it possible that she might end up hating him? Would she want to end their friendship over this.

Naruto stood on the bridge where the former team seven used to wait for their sensei. He had asked the platinum blond to meet him here. She was actually running a little late. He hoped that everything was okay with her. Naruto was soon pacing back and forth, in a very nervous manner. It wasn't too late to back out. No one said that he had to tell her about Kyuubi today. But then he remembered Inoichi's words. Ino had a right to know, especially since they had been spending a lot of time together.

"Hey Naruto." he heard her voice.

He stopped pacing, and turned around. Ino stopped right in front of him.

"Hey. I'm sorry that I'm late. What's up? Why did you want to meet me?"

The blond male nervously shoved his hands into his pockets. He gathered up his courage. This was now or never. Do or die. There was no holding back any longer.

"Uh, Ino-chan. I have something I want to tell you."

"Okay." She nodded. "Go for it."

"I should have probably told you this before. I'm sorry that I didn't."

Ino simply blinked in confusion. She saw that he was having a hard time. She only wanted him to say whatever it was that was on his mind.

"Naruto, it's okay. Just tell me."

"Right. Well do you remember the attack on Konoha, 17 years ago. The one made by Kyuubi. Did you ever hear anything about it?"

Ino nodded. She had remembered her parents discussing it when she was younger. She wondered why he was suddenly bringing it up now. What did that have to do with him?

"Yeah, the fox demon that the Yondaime killed right?"

"No. The fourth didn't kill Kyuubi. He um..." Naruto stopped.

Ino put her hand to his shoulder. She didn't know of any other way to help him tell her what was going on.

"Naruto, how do you know about all of this. It's not really something that we were told about, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I'll tell you. I know that the fourth didn't kill Kyuubi, because it was sealed inside a newborn."

He paused again. Naruto looked down and stared into Ino's eyes. She was clearly waiting for him to speak again.

"That newborn was me. I have Kyuubi inside of me. I'm a jinchuuriki."

Ino froze. Naruto stared into those aqua colored orbs. She had a look of fear in her eyes. He had never seen her look like this before. She slowly stepped away from him.

"You're a freak."

Her words were painful to him. It was the way she uttered the word _"freak"_. He hated the way she called him that so easily.

"Ino-chan...I..."

"No, you're a freak." She repeated. "I can't believe that you have that...that thing inside of you. And to think that I let you touch me. I let you hold my hand. How could I ever let a monster like you anywhere near me."

Each word she spoke felt like a stab to the chest. Her voice was filled with venom. He had never actually heard her speak like this. Not even to Sakura, whenever they had their little rivalry going on.

"But Ino, I'm not a monster. I'm still the same Naruto. You know, the one you always call idiot." he tried to smile. "You're friend."

Ino wasn't having any of it. She didn't want to hear any of his explanations. To her, he was not the same Naruto she once knew. He was a monster, a freak, someone she didn't want to be around.

"Don't try to get me to feel sorry for you, you creep. I'm out of here. Don't ever talk to me again. Goodbye."

He watched her walk away. Naruto tried to run after her. He had to stop her from leaving. He needed her to understand that he wasn't a monster, or a freak. He was someone that she could count on. He was her friend. When he caught up to her, he grabbed her arm.

"Ino-chan, please wait."

"Get the hell off of me, you goddamn monster."

She turned around and slapped him across the face. Naruto put his hand to his cheek. It had turned bright red. Ino had no sort of remorse in her eyes. Naruto only saw hate and disgust.

"Never come near me again."

With that she was gone from sight. Naruto never imagined that she would take the news so badly.

"Ino..." He whispered sadly.

* * *

Naruto woke up from his nightmare. He stared down at the seal on his stomach. That nightmare was still haunting him. He couldn't even begin to think of anything else.

"Ino-chan wouldn't react like that, would she?" He wondered.

He didn't want to even imagine that happening for real. It was then that he decided not to tell her. He would hold off on telling her for awhile. The young man had truly lost his nerve. At this moment, he simply didn't have the heart to tell her. For the rest of the night, he found that sleep did not come for him. He found that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get back to sleep. The dream would not leave his thoughts. He wasn't sure how the platinum blond was going to react. Sure she was loud, pushy, and sometimes overbearing. Yet the blue eyed girl had a caring side. And he found that she could be very understanding. Knowing this did nothing to ease his nervousness.

"I guess telling Ino-chan about Kyuubi will have to wait a little while longer."

* * *

Over the past few days, a certain pink haired female had the opportunity to do some serious thinking. Watching Ino and Naruto together, was something that she was still trying to get used to. She found that she was spending less time with her blond haired friend. If he wasn't on missions. He was spending all of his free time with Ino. She missed him, but of course she wasn't jealous. At least, that was what she was trying to tell herself.

"_I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous."_

Sakura was sitting at a nearby bench thinking, when Tenten saw her. Tenten walked over to her pink haired friend. She noticed that the young woman was clearly spacing out. The brunette waved her hand in front of her. There was no response. She then started to shake Sakura, there was still no response.

"Sakura!"

The younger girl didn't acknowledge the brunette. Tenten was becoming visibly upset. Just what the hell was she thinking about, that had her so spaced out. It was as if Sakura was in another world.

"Konoha to Haruno Sakura, where the hell are you right now?"

Sakura didn't even blink. She was too deep in her thoughts to be bothered by Tenten. The older kunoichi knew that she had to do something. She needed to bring the green eyed girl out of her current state.

"Oh my god, is that Naruto cheating on Ino with Temari from Suna."

"Huh?" Sakura instantly snapped out of it. "Oh, hey Tenten what's up?"

"You tell me." The brown eyed girl sat down next to her. "You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine." She lied. "I was just doing a little thinking."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Unknowing to the two girls, Ino was sitting behind some bushes listening in. She was actually going to ask Sakura what the problem was, but Tenten had gotten to her first. So here the platinum blond sat, eavesdropping on their conversation. She felt a little bad for doing this. Mainly because it made her seem like she had absolutely no life.

"Geez, what I am I even doing here. This is so pathetic."

As she was getting up to leave. She heard the two girls talking again.

"So what's on your mind?" Tenten asked.

"I was just thinking about Naruto and Ino."

She heard her name. There was no way she was leaving right now. She had to stay to hear this.

"What about them? They are so cute aren't they?"

"I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right with them. I can't explain."

"_Oh shit." _Ino thought.

This couldn't be a good thing. If Sakura was thinking thoughts like this, then she and Naruto simply weren't convincing enough.

"I don't get it. They seem like they're good for each other. You're probably a bit jealous." Tenten smiled.

Sakura's cheeks flushed red. No, that wasn't it. She admitted when she first found out that they were together. She was a little more than surprised. But it was to be expected. They were the very last people she saw making a love connection. She really didn't see that one coming. To make a long story short, she simply couldn't believe it. Although she had witnessed them holding hands, touching, and calling each other names like _"sweetie", _or _"baby"_. A part of her still didn't really believe it. Or maybe she just didn't want to believe it. Was she really jealous? Maybe on some level she was. She did however feel that Naruto had been taken away from her.

Ino sat there anticipating Sakura's answer. If it was what she had hoped, she could go find Naruto; and tell him the good news. They would be able to end this little charade.

"_Come on Forehead, just admit that you're jealous already."_

"I..." Sakura started. "I am not jealous."

"Yeah, right, whatever you say Sakura. You are so jealous. I can tell."

"No I'm not. Look, think about it Tenten. Don't you think that their relationship happened a little too fast? They had one date, the next thing they are suddenly into each other. And haven't you noticed that they never kiss."

Ino swallowed the lump in her throat. So this was what the whole thing was about. Sakura had a point. In front of their friends, she and Naruto had never once kissed. The most they ever did was hug, hold hands, and call each other little pet names. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten that little detail. Couples kissed, it was a well known fact. She had surely seen Lee and Tenten, and Hinata and Kiba enough to understand that.

She didn't want their entire plan blown to pieces, because of something as simple as a kiss. Besides, it wouldn't mean anything to either of them. She was positive that Naruto still wanted Sakura. She knew that much for sure. And she was simply Naruto's friend, nothing more, nothing less. She could kiss her friend with no strings attached. If this was all true, why did she feel nervous about it.

"So what." Tenten said. "Couples don't have to always show P.D.A. Who says that they have to be all over each other?"

Ino stood up from her position on the ground. She didn't want to hear the rest of this. Instead she went off in search of her blond friend. Sakura turned around. She stared at the bushes with a curious expression.

"What's up?" Tenten questioned.

"Um, its nothing. I told you Ten, its just weird. I can't really explain it but something is up."

* * *

Ino searched everywhere for her whisker faced friend. He wasn't at Ichiraku's, he wasn't training, no one had seen him. It wasn't as if he had vanished off the face of the earth.

"_Naruto, where the hell are you?"_ She wondered.

"Oi Ino, you okay?" Shikamaru asked.

"Huh, oh hey Shika. I didn't see you laying there. You haven't seen Naruto anywhere have you?"

A yawn escaped the dark haired male. He looked up to meet his gaze. She seemed a little on edge. He was starting to wonder why that was.

"Naruto? No I can't say that I've seen him."

"Alright." She nodded. "Thanks I'm going to go find him."

She started to leave but Shikamaru called out to her once more.

"Ino, I know its not really any of my business. But are you and Naruto okay. I don't know, you seem a little panicked for some reason."

"We're fine." Ino smiled. "There's nothing to worry about. I'll see you around okay Shika, bye." She waved.

Shikamaru only shrugged his shoulders. If Ino said everything was fine, then it had to be true. He would have to leave any suspicions or questions alone for the moment.

"I guess that she's okay then."

The platinum blond finally decided to check Naruto's house. He had to be in his apartment. She knocked on the door. There was no answer at first.

"Naruto, open up."

She only knocked harder. He had yet to come to the door. A sigh escaped her. What was he doing in there that was so important? Could he seriously not hear her practically banging on his door.

"Naruto!" She shouted.

It was then that realization came to her. Perhaps he wasn't even home. It would explain why he wasn't coming to the door. Only, if he wasn't home. Where the hell was he?

"I better go then."

Just then a taller, spiky headed blond came to the door. He was dressed in nothing except his boxers, and a sleeveless t shirt. A blush rose to Ino's face, yet it quickly faded.

"Ino-chan." He yawned. "What are you doing here?"

"Get back inside. You hardly have any clothes on." She pushed him back inside his apartment.

"What's up? What are you doing here?" He asked again.

Naruto moved the many ramen cups out of the way, so that Ino could have a seat. The blue eyed female sat down and he did as well. She stared at the young man's arms. He had a well toned body, she could tell. She found herself wishing that the shirt was completely off. She wanted to see just how well toned he really was.

"_No."_ She shook her head. _"Don't think like that."_

Ino took a breath. She needed to get her thoughts together. She thanked Kami that Naruto couldn't read her thoughts right now.

"Ino-chan?" His voice held concern. "Are you okay?"

"Hai." She nodded. "We've got to talk. I have some news. For one thing, Sakura is totally jealous."

"What?" He scratched his head in confusion.

"She is, trust me. I heard her talking with Tenten. Even if she's not admitting it, she definitely is."

Ino seemed to be completely confident in this little bit of information. Naruto, on the other hand wasn't sure what to make of things.

"Ino..."

"No. Listen we're making progress. It may be at a slow pace, but we are making progress. There's something else though."

Naruto blinked. He wasn't sure how to interpret Ino's tone of voice. She also appeared to be a little reluctant about sharing the next part of her news.

"Ino-chan what is it?"

"Well, to seal the deal we're going to have to show a little more public affection. We're going to have to..." She paused. "We're going to have to kiss."

As soon as he heard this, Naruto fell from his spot on the bed. He hit the floor hard. Ino simply shook her head.

"Get up you idiot."

"But...but Ino-chan we,...um we can't do that."

"I know." She agreed. "We have to. If Sakura sees it, its bound to have some sort of impact on her. Besides, couples do kiss."

She caught the look of worry on the blond boy's face.

"I know what you're thinking. It'll be okay Naruto. It's just a quick kiss. We both know that it wont mean anything. You do want Forehead don't you?"

A sigh escaped Naruto. He stood up, and made his way over to the window. Ino stared at him. She waited patiently for some sort of response.

"Ino-chan, what if this is really a waste of our time. I'm not sure if this is a good idea anymore. Maybe we should just give it up."

Ino almost didn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. This wasn't possible. Uzumaki Naruto was quitting. Sure, he had always been a bit reluctant since the beginning. He had always had his doubts about the whole plan. But she thought that he was all for it by now. And she didn't come all this way to give up now. She wasn't ready to call this whole thing quits.

"Uzumaki." She called out to him in a stern voice. "We didn't come all this way to give up now. We just have to push a little harder. You and I can do this. Listen, I really want to help you. At first this was just a stupid game to me. I wanted to tick Sakura off. But now..."

Naruto turned around to meet Ino's gaze. She was being serious, he could tell by the look in her eyes. She also had a very serious expression on her face.

"Ino..."

"Let me finish okay. I want you to have the things that you want. Although, I did tell you that you needed to get over her. Forehead has always been one of those things. She's always been the girl of your dreams. So, if I can help I want to. So," She smiled. "We're in this to the very end, got it."

There was something in her voice that made him not want to disappoint her. She seemed determined. He ended up giving her a half smile.

"Uh, sure."

"Good. Now don't worry so much about that kiss. It's only for show, remember?"

"Yeah."

"And I would hate for all of our progress to be ruined. We've come to far to end this thing now, especially since its just something as simple as a kiss. I'm going to go now. I'll see you."

"Bye Ino-chan."

"Bye." She waved.

The platinum blond exited his house. She leaned up against the door for a moment. Ino took a breath.

"That takes care of that. I can't believe that he almost gave up. We've worked too hard to give up."

With that Ino left his apartment and headed home. All she could really think about was the conversation with Sakura and Tenten. Why couldn't the pink haired girl accept what she and Naruto had already produced? Now they had to actually kiss. This might prove to be difficult. Ino saw that they had a challenge ahead of them.

"Things should work out fine. Yeah, as long as I remain optimistic. It should work out okay."

Naruto watched until the platinum blond was out of sight. To say he was nervous about this kiss was an understatement. He was down right panicked. He was more than just a little worried about it. Then again, there was no real reason to panic. Like Ino said it wouldn't mean anything.

"Yeah." Naruto laughed. "It's only a little kiss. It wont mean anything." He told himself.

* * *

One day the _"couple"_ sat together holding hands, like they usually did. Ino figured that today was better than any other; to get this kiss over with. Unknowing to Naruto Sakura had been nearby. Tenten was standing next to her.

"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" She asked.

"Shh, I'm watching them."

"Oh yeah, and you're definitely not jealous. Sakura do you see yourself? Look at what you're doing. You're sitting here spying on them from the bushes."

Sakura chose to ignore Tenten's comments. Although, she really did have a point. This was more than just a little ridiculous. This was down right crazy. Naruto felt the nervousness running through him. He was almost a complete wreck. He was sweating, and he felt like his throat was about to close in. Ino turned to look at him. She slowly loosened her grip on his hand.

"You're palms are really sweaty. Are you alright?"

She gently placed her hand to his forehead. He didn't have a fever. So he definitely wasn't sick. It was then that she came to one conclusion.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yeah, kind of." He admitted.

"Don't be. It's not a big deal like I said. It's going to be okay."

"Yeah I..."

Ino suddenly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Naruto blinked in confusion. Why was she doing this. None of their friends were around. She was now firmly pressed up against his chest. He let out a muffled groan.

"Ino-chan, what are you..."

"Shh, she's watching us."

"Who?"

"Sakura. I see that pink head of hers. Who does she think she's fooling?" Ino spoke in an amused tone.

Ino pulled away slightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Aqua orbs staring into his confused cerulean blue pools. He didn't like that look in her eyes. She had something planned he could tell.

"Naruto, are you ready?"

"Um...ready for what?"

Ino rolled her eyes at his comment. It figured he would say something like that.

"Never mind, just come here." She then pressed her lips to his for a quick kiss. Sakura's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

"What the...do you see that...they can't be...what?" She repeated.

"Well, what do you expect they are a couple." Tenten reminded her.

Naruto never relaxed into her kiss. Ino frowned slightly. It was so tense and uncomfortable. The very least he could have done was kiss her back.

"_Naruto, what the hell are you doing?"_ Ino thought.

"I don't believe this." Sakura whispered.

"Ew, gross get a room you two." Kiba's voice was heard.

The two blonds immediately looked up to see the feral boy. He had a grin on his face.

"Shut the hell up Kiba." Ino shouted. "If I want to kiss my man, I'm damn well going to. Besides we didn't say anything when you gave Hinata-chan that hickey the other day."

A slight blush rose to the brown haired boy's face. It quickly faded.

"Yes. Naruto-kun and Ino-chan are just enjoying a youthful moment together."

Tenten sighed heavily. She then made her way over to her boyfriend. She had to get him to shut up.

"Lee-kun, shut up."

"Oh, hello Tenten-chan. Where did you come from?"

"Yeah Ten, where did you come from? Ino asked with a suspicious look on her face.

Tenten swallowed the lump of nervousness in her throat. She didn't want Ino to know that she was with Sakura. She really didn't want a any part of that mess.

"I was just walking by when I heard Lee. We have a date right now, remember Lee?"

"Huh?" He was definitely confused.

She stepped on his foot and pulled him closer to her.

"We have a date don't we?" She repeated.

"Um oh yes, yes we do, lead the way Tenten-chan." He smiled weakly.

Ino just let out a laugh. She stroked Naruto's cheek. She could see right through Tenten's quick lie. Well, she did get points for thinking quickly though.

"If I knew that we we're going to have an audience. I would have invited them over a lot sooner huh, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah Ino-chan." He gave her a smile.

"Whatever." Kiba laughed. "I didn't mean to crash your make out session. I'll be on my way. See you guys." He waved.

"Bye Kiba." They said together.

Ino was trying to decide on whether or not she should confront Sakura. The pink haired girl had to still be nearby. She highly doubted that Sakura had left just yet. Ino closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She was now staring in the direction where Sakura was sitting.

"Sakura, you can come out now."

"Shit." Sakura cursed.

She pulled herself together before coming out from her hiding spot.

"Hey, you two."

"Did you enjoy the show? Or do we have to give you a repeat of it?"

"No thanks. I got more than an eyeful."

"Good, I'm glad that you saw. Now you see just what you don't have, huh. Now you see what you're missing don't you?"

"What? Ino-pig I..."

"It's perfectly okay you know. I'm not mad because your jealous. I think it's kind of cute actually."

Sakura held her mouth open. She tried to find some words to say, only she found that she had none at this moment.

"I..." was the only thing that she could say.

"What's the matter Forehead? Are you speechless?"

Sakura closed her mouth for a moment. She needed to come up with something to say back to Ino. She couldn't let Ino get the last words in.

"Shut up Ino-pig. Why don't you and Naruto go back to sucking face. I have to go."

"Oh. Sakura, next time ask first before you watch us."

"Whatever." She shouted and then stormed off. Ino waited until she was completely gone from sight before talking. She didn't want their conversation to be overheard. She turned to face her blond haired friend. Naruto was already staring at her.

"Tell me that you saw that. She was so jealous. It was written all over her face."

"Maybe." Naruto spoke.

"Naruto she was, trust me. We're doing good."

Naruto only nodded. He then stood up. Ino watched him with a curious expression. She hoped that she didn't say anything to upset him.

"Hey, what's wrong Naruto?"

"It's nothing." He lied. "I'm going to go. I'm sorry about that kiss."

"Don't be. It didn't mean anything. It was nothing like I said. So, if that's why you're leaving right now..." She started.

"It isn't." Naruto quickly cut her off. "I'm just going to go."

"Okay then. I'll see you. And next time I will get Forehead to really admit that she's jealous. She's so stubborn, I swear."

"Okay Ino-chan. Bye."

"Bye."

Ino sat there for a little while longer. She put her hand to her lips. She could hardly call that a real kiss. He didn't even kiss her back. There was no feeling, except for discomfort.

"No. It was nothing, it meant nothing. I'm fine." She whispered to no one.

With that the blue eyed girl got up and went home. The only thing on her mind now was Naruto, and that almost kiss that happened between them.

* * *

That night Naruto was laying in bed with his arms behind his head. He stared into the ceiling. All he could think about was almost kissing Ino. He wasn't considering it a real kiss either. The only thing that happened was her lips being pressed up against his. He had never kissed her back. Naruto wondered why he couldn't reciprocate that kiss. He turned when he heard a light tapping at his window sill.

He saw the platinum blond out there. She had a smile on her face. It was late, what was she doing out there. She had to be okay, she was smiling after all. So he knew that she was in a good mood.

"Hey Naruto-kun, open up okay."

He went to the window. She entered and stared back into his eyes. He looked more than just a little surprised to see her.

"Hey Ino-chan. What are you doing here?"

"Shh." She put her finger to his lips. She walked closer to him. The blue eyed girl wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He stood there frozen for a moment. He almost felt the urge to wrap his arms around her waist. But, decided against it.

"Naruto, I didn't get my kiss. You never kissed me back. You didn't give me the opportunity to really feel your lips against mine."

The taller blond's cheeks turned red. He felt his heart race, his pulse quickened. Ino was really close to him right now. He could literally feel her heartbeat. Why did she have to be this close to him right now? Her chest was pressed firmly up against his. He could feel each and every outline of her body. It was now causing certain sensations to run through him. He felt his lower half stiffen. Naruto turned red with embarrassment. If Ino had felt it, which he was sure she had. She didn't say anything about it.

"Uh...Ino-chan?" He started.

She now had her hand on to his face. She smiled up at him. There was a look of want in her blue eyes. She came here for a kiss, and she clearly wasn't leaving until she got that kiss.

"I want my kiss Naruto-kun. Don't deny me this time. Let me really feel how well you can kiss a girl. Don't disappoint me."

She leaned forward pressing her lips to his. It took a moment before he relaxed into the kiss. After a few moments he eased his way into her kiss. Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening their kiss. Something that has started out so innocent and light, was now much turning into something much more heated and passionate. He felt his heart pounding through his chest, with each passing moment. Naruto ended their kiss by pulling away. Ino also felt her pulse quicken. She hadn't expected it to be that good.

"Wow, Naruto. Who knew that you actually could kiss."

* * *

Naruto instantly woke up. There was sweat pouring from his forehead. It was a dream. It all just been one big dream. None of it was real. Although to him it had felt very real. He literally felt her lips on his.

"Oh boy." Naruto sighed. "I need to get a grip."

Naruto thought about something. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to get out of Konoha for a little while. He could definitely use a vacation. A little trip that wasn't a mission for once. Naruto nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll get out of Konoha for a little while."

* * *

The next afternoon, a pink haired girl was walking the streets of Konoha. She walked slowly with her shoulders slumped over. She was tired out of her mind. She had a terrible nightmare of Naruto and Ino getting married. The next thing she saw was a whole bunch of annoying, loud, blond children. She shuddered at the very thought. That couldn't possibly happen. Sure they had kissed, but marriage and children, that was out of the question.

"No, I can't be godmother to the spawn of Naruto and Ino-pig."

She stopped walking and looked towards the gates. She saw two heads of blond hair. Speak of the devils. There was Naruto and Ino together, like usual. So she wasn't really surprised to see them together. But this time they were leaving the village. And they weren't holding hands. Hell, they weren't even standing all that close to each other. Naruto was clearly leading the way, with Ino following behind him. Sakura raised a eyebrow in question. They were too far away for her to call out to them. She knew that right now she couldn't ask any questions. She watched until both blonds were gone from sight.

"There is something definitely up with those two. Oh well, I guess I will confront them about it when they get back. Naruto, Ino what's really going on with you both?"

**A/N: Okay. So I hope you all aren't too disappointed. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, so it should be up quicker. Hopefully. Read and Review please.**


	11. Yeah, we're just friends

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* * *

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A/N: Wow I am proud of myself, I don't think I've ever updated this fast. Well, I'm sure you all are wondering about when I'm going to get back to the present time. Don't worry we will be there soon. There are just a few more things I want to get out of the way first. Also sorry about the mistakes last chapter. I will do my best to make sure that doesn't happen again. Anyway, about this chapter. Sasuke will be mentioned (EW). I could really care less if they bring Sasuke back or not, sorry Sasuke fans but I am an Uzumaki fan girl lol. In this story he is still a missing ninja. I will also mention Asuma's death. But there will be no spoilers or anything like that. Okay, enough rambling on. Here is the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto he and Gaara would have been best friends instead of Sasuke. But that didn't happen so I don't own it.**

* * *

The blue eyed male put his hand to Ino's cheek. He stared down at her for a moment. There was a look of want and desire in his eyes. Those cerulean blue orbs seemed to be screaming _"I want you"_. The platinum blond stared wide eyed at him. Why was he looking at her like this? Surely he couldn't be looking at her this way. Naruto gently stroked her cheek.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Ino-chan, I want you. I want you more than anything." He whispered to her.

He put his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him. She could feel her heartbeat through her chest. Her cheeks flushed red at his warm touch. Why was he causing these feelings to stir up inside of her? Couldn't he see what he was doing to her right now?

"But I thought that you wanted Forehead?"

"No." He shook his head. "I want to be with you and only you."

He leaned down, capturing her lips in a soft passionate kiss. Ino tried to resist his kiss. This was wrong, wasn't it? It shouldn't be happening. He was only her friend, nothing more, nothing less. Only she soon found herself giving in and kissing him back.

"Ino-chan I..."

* * *

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a loud clapping sound. It was Naruto trying to get her attention.

"Hey Ino-chan what's up? Where are you right now?" Naruto asked.

Ino shook her head, getting rid of the remainder of her thoughts. She looked up to meet Naruto's concerned gaze. She couldn't very well tell him what she was thinking.

"I'm fine, sorry that I was spacing out on you."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She tried to reassure him.

He did not really believe her, but decided not to comment any further. If Ino said that she was fine, he would just have to take her word for it. Whatever she had been thinking about must have been pretty good, since she couldn't seem to pull herself out of her own thoughts.

"_I wonder what she was thinking about."_

Naruto decided that it was really none of his business, and let go of any questions he might have had for her.

"Let's rest here for awhile, okay." Ino said to him.

"Sure."

Ino sat down underneath a nearby tree, her blond counterpart sat on a nearby rock. She gazed up into the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight. It was really such a beautiful day. She felt that she should definitely enjoy it.

"It's a really nice day today, huh?" The platinum blond told him.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "It'll probably rain at some point though."

She blinked, and stared up into those cerulean blue orbs.

"What makes you say that?" She wondered.

"Huh?" He then looked at her. "Oh, you can just sense it. Hey Ino-chan when you're ready to get going let me know."

"Hey why are you going to the Land of Waves anyway?"

Ino had been in such a rush to go with the blue eyed boy, she had forgotten to ask him why he was leaving Konoha. The only thing that she knew was that she was bored out of her mind; and she had wanted something to do.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

Ino had been watching the shop, when she noticed a familiar head of spiky blond hair outside. She saw Naruto with his bag on his back. It meant that he was leaving the village. She ran to the door of the shop.

"_Oi, Naruto where are you going?" She was curious._

_Naruto turned around to see Ino, he smiled for her._

"_Hey there Ino-chan. I'm going to the Land of Waves."_

"_You're going to go alone?"_

"_Yes, so I better go. I'll see you when I get back Ino."_

_He started to walk off. Ino stood there just thinking for a moment. Here she was, bored out of her mind. Was it really such a bad idea if she tagged along. It gave her something to do, that was for sure._

"_Hey Naruto wait. Um, give me a moment to get ready okay. I want to go with you."  
_

_Naruto blinked in confusion._

"_Um, Ino-chan you..."_

"_No." She cut him off. "I really want to go alright. I'll be right back, just wait for me."  
_

_All Naruto could do was nod, because she was already gone._

"_Okay..."_

_(End)_

* * *

"I'm going to the Land of Waves to visit a family over there."

"Oh." She blinked. "So it's a social thing?"

"Yeah, its been awhile since I last saw them. I just wanted to see how they were doing, you know."

"Yeah." She nodded in understanding. _"Whatever, it beats standing around in the flower shop all day."_

Ino got up from her comfortable position on the ground. She stretched her arms, a long sigh escaping her.

"Alright, well I guess we can keep moving then."

"Good." Naruto nodded.

He led the way with Ino following behind him. She was actually curious to see what would happen on this little trip with Naruto.

"It might be interesting. I've already been surprised by him."

"Hey Ino-chan, you've never been to the land of the Waves huh?"

"No, I never have." She admitted. "I heard that it was a pretty poor country though."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "It was, but they progressed a lot since the bridge was built."

"Hm, well that's a good thing. I bet you'll be pretty excited to see your friends again, huh?"

"Yeah, you'll like them. They're all really nice people. You..." The blond male paused, as he had now hit the ground hard, due to the fact that he wasn't paying attention and tripped over a rock.

"Damn." He cursed.

"Are you alright? Geez you're clumsy. Come here, give me you're hand."

Naruto reached for Ino's hand, and she helped him up from the ground.

"Hey." Ino smiled. "It looks like I'm already saving your ass."

"Yeah right." Naruto smirked. "I don't need you to save me Ino-chan."

"Yeah, we'll see about that. We've still got plenty of time in the day. You never know what might happen."

Naruto raised an eyebrow to his traveling companion._ Was_ it him, or did it sound like she actually wanted something to go wrong; just so she could end up being his rescuer.

"Hey, it sounds like you want something to happen."

"There's nothing wrong with a little excitement." The platinum blond told him.

"Yeah I guess, but we're just going to visit some friends of mine. It's not a mission or anything Ino, you probably thought it was right?"

"Well, yeah I did sort of think that it was a mission. But hey, I don't mind if its just a social thing. I really did want to come with you."

Ino paused when she realized what she said, and just exactly how she said it. Naruto only blinked.

"Uh, Ino-chan..."

"Um, never mind that. Let's get going okay." She spoke cheerfully and started to lead the way.

"Um Ino, you're going the wrong way."

Ino quickly stopped walking. Of course she had no idea where the hell she was going.

_"Stupid move Ino."_ She muttered under her breath. "Heh," Ino laughed. "I'll just follow your lead then."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea Ino. You don't want to get lost or something, you're father would never let me hear the end of it.

Naruto could just imagine the look on Inoichi's face, if he came back to Konoha without Ino. Although, he had been able to get through an entire dinner with Mr. Yamanaka; he would be a dead man for sure if that happened.

* * *

_(Naruto's Daydream)  
_

_Naruto imagined himself standing in front of Mr. Yamanaka._

_"Hi Yamanaka-san." He smiled nervously._

_"Hm." He nodded with his arms folded. He then looked around for any sign of his daughter. He was positive that she said she would be leaving with Naruto. He saw that the blond male was back, but just where in the world was his princess._

_"Naruto? Where is Ino? I assumed that she would be with you."_

_"Um, about Ino-chan. She sort of, kind of, got lost. Heh." He laughed running his fingers through his hair. Inoichi did not look amused in the slightest. Clearly, he had missed the joke._

_"What do you mean she's lost?"_

_"I..."  
_

_"Naruto, answer me!"_

_"This is all we could find of her Mr. Yamanaka." Naruto held out Ino's hair clip. Inoichi's eyes widened as he took the hair clip from the young man. He gripped the hair clip in his hand._

_"Uzumaki! I just have one question to ask you, before I torture you slowly, pull out all your insides, and use your body as a scarecrow. How the hell do you lose a whole person?"  
_

_"Um..." Naruto started._

_"Too slow." Inoichi reached in his pocket for a kunai.  
_

_(End of Daydream)_

* * *

"Naruto!, Naruto!, Damn it Naruto are you listening?"

"What?"

"Geez, now who's the one spacing out. What were you thinking about anyway?"

"Oh, just thinking about what I'd say to your father if you got lost on this trip."

"My father would totally hunt you down, break you into tiny pieces, and probably dispose your body some where that even Tsunade-sama couldn't find you. Whatever is left of you anyway."

"Y...Yeah." He gulped. "You're probably right Ino-chan. Or, I could probably make up some story about how you ran off with some rogue nin, and got married or something. Oh, and that you had no intention of ever coming back to Konoha.

Ino simply rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Oh yeah, that's very good Naruto, just brilliant. My father would never buy that story."

"Well, then, what would you like me to tell him, huh?"

"I don't know, but something else other than me marrying a rogue-nin. I'm sure that you can be much more creative than that."

"Okay I got it, we ran into a bunch of westerners. And they were like training for the circus or something. When they suddenly spotted you, they had never seen someone as loud or as blond as you so..."

Ino looked offended. She gripped her fist, holding in all of her rage.

"Uzumaki?" She questioned through clenched teeth.

"H...Hai, Ino-chan?"

"There are a few problems with your story. Its completely, totally stupid. Why would the circus only kidnap me, when you're just as loud as me. Oh, and are you forgetting that you are a blond too, you moron?"

"Heh." He laughed. "I just got you to admit that you're loud."

Ino's cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. Naruto was right, he had managed to get the blond to admit how loud she was.

"Shut up." She snapped. "If anyone is loud it's you. You got me beat, hands down."

"Nah, you're louder."

"Oh yeah?" Ino shouted.

"Yeah."

"Well you are the loudest times infinity."

"No." Naruto shook his head. "You are definitely the loudest times infinity and one, plus not three but four bowls of pork ramen. You're the loudest kunoichi in all of Konoha."

Ino sighed heavily, she took her fist and punched him in the head.

"Ow." He cried out_._

"Watch it Naruto."

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I didn't realize that you were so sensitive."

"What the hell are we doing? We're arguing about something that's so pointless."

"Yeah, you're right." He nodded his head in agreement.

"Besides, we both know that you are the loudest." She mumbled under her breath.

Naruto pretended not to hear her. He decided that there was no point in going back and forth with Ino. Truthfully, they were both equally loud individuals. He knew it, she knew it, the bottom line was that they both knew it. There really was no point in dwelling on it, and arguing any further.

"Damn, I think that I liked it better when you lost your voice. At least you were quiet then eh, Ino-chan?" He turned to give her a smile.

"There he goes with that damn smile of his. Wait, why am I even noticing his smile. It's not that big of a deal, right?" She wondered.

She had to admit that he had a very nice smile. His smile seemed to brighten up his entire face.

"Come on Ino, stop thinking about his smile. That should be the last thing on your mind."

Before long Ino put those sort of thoughts aside. When they came to the bridge, she immediately noticed what the words said.

"The great Naruto bridge." She read.

She turned to look at her spiky headed blond companion. She held her mouth open in slight shock.

"Okay, you are the only Naruto that I know. And I doubt that there's another one running around here. So, do you want to tell me what the hell you did to get a bridge named after you." Ino asked him.

"Heh." Naruto laughed. "I guess old man Tazuna named the bridge after me. Let's get going okay."

Naruto started walking away. Ino stared at the words one more time, before walking after him.

"So, you aren't going to tell me the story then. It has to be a big deal if you have a bridge named after you:

"It's an old story. It happened a long time ago, back when me, Sakura-chan, and..." he paused. "Back when team 7 helped this old man named Tazuna. There was this creep named Zabuza. He was basically a huge threat to the construction of the bridge, and the people were terrified of him. He really slowed down things for Tazuna. So, we had to help you know. To make a long story short we defeated Zabuza, and helped old man Tazuna out. Heh, I didn't think that he would actually name the bridge after me."

"It sounds like you guys did a lot of cool things in your genin days. Chouji, Shika, and I never went up against a known criminal when we were younger."

"Hm." Naruto nodded. "Maybe so, but you guys have amazing teamwork. I guess it's because your fathers started the whole Ino-Shika-Cho thing before you guys, right?" He wondered.

"Yeah, you have a point." Ino agreed.

Naruto came to a stop, he seemed focused on the ground for some reason. Ino raised an eyebrow to him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She wondered.

"I was just thinking about the fight we had here with Haku. I always sort of felt bad for him. He really didn't deserve to die."

Ino could see the evident sadness in his eyes. It was written all over the young man's face.

"Who's Haku?"

"He was Zabuza's right hand man. He was completely loyal to him, and did pretty much whatever he wanted. He wasn't that much older than me when he died. I thought that if we had lived in a different time, he and I could have been friends."

Ino put her hand to Naruto's shoulder. She hated to see him down like this, although she could definitely understand why.

"I'm sure that Haku is in a good place now."

"Yeah." Naruto smiled bravely. "Let's get going okay."

"Sure."

The companions continued on in an almost deathly silence. There was very little conversation between the two of them. Ino assumed that it was because this place held a lot of memories for him here.

_'He was only 12 when it happened. It had to have a big impact on him."_

She would often steal glances at him every now and then. Ino felt that there wasn't really much she could say to him. Perhaps maybe in this case silence was golden. She should probably leave him to his own thoughts for now.

"Ino-chan, I'm sorry for getting all quiet on you." He soon apologized.

"Don't apologize, its really okay. You probably have a lot on your mind, right?" She asked in a knowing tone.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Out of the way, coming through." A boy's voice was heard.

Ino and Naruto turned around to see a young dark haired boy running at full speed. He went crashing into the two blond, causing Naruto to fall down on the ground.

"Damn it, what's the big idea?" Naruto asked the boy with his fist raised.

The boy then turned around. He was greeted by that unruly blond hair, cerulean blue orbs, and those all too familiar whisker marks.

"Naruto-nii-chan?"

"Huh, you know him?" Ino asked while helping her friend off of the ground.

"Yeah." The boy nodded. "Naruto ni-chan don't tell me that you forgot all about me?"

Naruto studied the young boy's face. He was definitely for sure a few years younger than them. And although he looked different, much more mature. Naruto knew those big dark eyes anywhere.

"Hey Inari." He smiled for his friend.

"Oh good." He sighed in relief. "I was about to get worried there for a second you know, seeing as how you're closer to middle age now." The dark haired boy teased.

"Very funny Inari, I never forget." Naruto said proudly.

"Okay I get it. So, Nii-chan who's the pretty girl?" He pointed to Ino.

A slight blush rose to Ino's cheeks. A compliment was always appreciated, no matter who it was from.

"Hm." Naruto pretended to look around. "Nope, no pretty girls around here, that's just Ino." He laughed.

"What!" Ino exploded.

She quickly punched him aside the head. Inari laughed upon seeing the fresh lump on Naruto's head.

"Oh I get it, so she's your girlfriend. I can tell by the way that she hits you."

Ino grew silent for a moment. Naruto turned his gaze elsewhere. Before long he put his familiar goofy grin on.

"No, Ino-chan and I are just friends." He spoke honestly.

"Oh cool, so then I can try my luck with her."

"No way." Naruto said. "Ino only goes for the cool, awesome guys like me, right Ino-chan?"

"Wrong." She shook her head.

"Aw man." Naruto sighed. "It was worth a try."

"Come on Naruto, Ino-chan lets go to my house. Mom and Gramps will be very excited to see you."

With that the three of them started for Inari's house. It didn't take long for the questions to start rolling. Inari wanted to know what Naruto had been up to. Had he done any other cool things since they last saw one another? If Ino wasn't really his girlfriend, then where was she? Was she locked up in a cage somewhere? Did he ever let her out for sunlight?

Naruto hesitantly answered all of his questions, even all the really stupid ones.

"Wow Naruto-nii-chan I can't believe that you don't have a girlfriend. You're so cool."

"Hey, I don't exactly see your fan club around here."

At this the dark haired boy laughed. "Just because you don't see them, that doesn't mean that they aren't around." Inari said.

"That's a good one Inari." Ino laughed, mainly because of the questionable look on Naruto's face. He probably was just kidding about that fan club thing.

Inari then turned his attention on to the pretty blond girl. He couldn't understand why such a pretty girl would cover half of her face like that. What was the deal with the extra long bang? He had to know the answer to that question.

"Hey, Ino-chan?"

"Yes?" Ino answered.

"I don't get it, what's with the hair do. Why are you hiding so much of your face? Is there something wrong with your eye? Do you have a glass eye or something? Oh, I know maybe you have two color eyes and you don't want anyone to see it; is that it?"

Ino looked almost stunned. She didn't know whether to scream or to punch him in the face. How dare he ask so many stupid questions. Questions about her hair no less.

"Oh great, now you've done it. She'll kill us both." Naruto sighed.

"For the record both of my eyes are blue. No, I don't have a glass eye. No, I'm not cross eyed, nor do I have a lazy eye. They are perfectly normal, and they've been that way since I was born. I just like to wear my hair this way, is that okay with you?"

"Uh..." Inari started. "Sure."

"Good." Ino smiled. "Now please, no more ridiculous questions."

"I didn't think it was so ridiculous." Inari whispered to Naruto.

"Hm," Naruto agreed with him .

"Oh that's right, mom and gramps. Let's get going."

The party of three soon arrived at Inari's house. Tazuna was already seated outside.

"Inari, you've brought some friends have you? Oh...hello there Naruto, it's been awhile."

"Yeah, it sure has."

Inari's mother soon came outside to see what was happening. She certainly hadn't expected to see Naruto standing there.

"What's happening out here? Oh, hello there Naruto-kun, it's been so long. My, you've grown into such a handsome young man."

She paused as she noticed Ino standing there next to him. She was positive that she had never seen the platinum blond before.

"Oh hello there. You must be a friend of Naruto-kun's."

"Yeah." Ino nodded. "Hi, my name is Ino Yamanaka."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ino. And Naruto, it's about time that you stopped by to visit us. I was getting worried that you weren't ever going to come back."

"Yeah." He nodded knowingly. "I'm sorry that I haven't been by sooner."

"It's alright Naruto-nii-chan, at least you came now."

"And we will have a nice dinner to celebrate." Tazuna spoke in a cheerful tone. "Naruto, I take it that you saw the name of the bridge?"

"Yep, I sure did." Naruto nodded. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem, we should be thanking you, you know that."

Ino listened while Inari, his mother, and old man Tazuna caught up on old times. It was a nice sight to see. It was certainly true Naruto could make friends with anyone.

"I better go and get dinner started."

"Would you like some help?" Ino asked Inari's mother.

"Sure, that would be great Ino-chan. I really appreciate it."

Ino followed the older woman into the house, Naruto decided that he would stay outside with Tazuna and Inari for awhile.

"So, you decided to bring your girlfriend on your visit, eh?" Tazuna nudged him in the shoulder.

"Huh?" His cheeks flushed red. "Um, no Ino-chan is just a friend."

"What a shame, if I were your age I would have already made my move." The old man spoke proudly.

"And you would have got rejected in a heartbeat. Ino-chan goes for those weird, pretty boy types."

"What?" Tazuna frowned.

"Ha, he's right gramps." Inari laughed.

Inside the house Ino was helping Inari's mother in the kitchen.

"So, if you don't mind my asking. How long have you and Naruto-kun been together?"

Ino stopped cutting vegetables and started coughing. It took a few moments for her to regain her composure.

"Oh, um Naruto and I are only friends. I was just tagging along on this little trip of his."

"Hm, I see, that's okay you don't have to give me the details Ino-chan." She smiled and went back to the soup she was making.

Ino sighed in relief, she was glad that she wouldn't ask anymore questions. Although Ino could tell that she really didn't believe her. When she heard laughing she looked outside to see the boys playing. Naruto now had Inari tied up to a tree, where he managed to get a rope from, she didn't know. Yet seeing Naruto so happy made her feel happy as well.

"He hasn't changed a bit, huh?" Inari's mother spoke.

"Yeah, he may look more mature, but he's still the same old Naruto."

"I'm glad of that. He was always a very likable young man. We've never forgotten about him, and I'm glad that he never forgot us."

Ino smiled for her. "Don't worry, he'd never forget his friends."

* * *

Dinner that evening was full of laughter and fun. Tazuna was making jokes about Naruto and his grandson. Naruto was firing back by calling him a sleazy old man, even Inari had to get his jokes in here and there.

"So Naruto, do you think that you'll ask Ino-chan out sometime in the near future. You know some time before you're my age." Tazuna laughed.

The two blonds looked away, avoiding each other's gaze.

"Dad that's not very nice. From what I hear they are only friends."

"Yeah, that's right." Ino whispered.

"Yep." Naruto nodded.

"You both should stay here the night." The older woman suggested. "It's late, you can head back to Konoha tomorrow."

"Um..." The blond boy started.

"That'll be great." Ino smiled politely.

"You'll have to share the guest room. But it's big enough so that you both can have your own space. It should be okay, right?"

Both teens turned slightly red, due to the fact that they had to share the room.

"Um...sure." Naruto soon said.

"Yeah, it'll be okay as long as Naruto keeps his hands to himself. You can resist me can't you Naruto?" Ino smiled playfully.

The boy swallowed the lump in his throat. He then put a smile of his own on his face.

"Of course, you're the one who can't keep your hands to yourself. Ino-chan try not to have your way with me when I'm sleeping okay."

"You..." Ino started.

"Now, now you two settle down okay. This is not the time for a lover's quarrel."

"Old man." Naruto went wide eyed.

Tazuna let out another laugh. Ino and Naruto could see that there would be plenty more couple jokes to come.

"You two be good okay." Inari teased. "No funny business."

Naruto could only sigh. This was definitely going to be a long night.

* * *

**(Meanwhile back in Konoha)**

Inoichi Yamanaka paced back and forth in the living room. It was getting rather late, and there was still no sign of his daughter.

"I wonder where Ino-chan is, it's getting kind of late."

Just then Ino's mother remembered something. "Oh yes, Ino-chan isn't here. She went to the Land of Waves with Naruto-kun."

"What!" Inoichi asked.

"Yeah, she left earlier this afternoon. I'm assuming that its a mission."

The older male stopped pacing for a moment. He didn't have a overall problem with Naruto. In fact, he thought that he was a very nice young man. The fact of the matter was that he was a boy. His gender was the problem. Boys were not to be trusted. And he and Ino were alone together, anything could happen.

"You, you let our princess out on an overnight trip with a boy!"

"Inoichi-kun settle down. It's Naruto remember, we like Naruto, we trust Naruto."

She put her hands on to her husbands shoulders in an effort to calm him down. Inoichi took a deep breath, he knew that his wife had made a valid point.

"Okay you're right dear, we trust Naruto." Inoichi took another breath and closed his eyes. "Uzumaki." He shouted. "You'd better keep your hands to yourself or you're dead."

* * *

Naruto froze, a sudden uneasy feeling running through his body. He could have sworn someone had just shouted very loudly.

"Naruto ni-chan are you okay?" Inari asked.

'Huh, oh yeah, I'm fine."

The two boys were now sitting outside watching the stars. It was really a beautiful night.

"It was cool of you to visit nii-chan."

"Yeah, I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner. I was just a little preoccupied." He admitted.

Unknowing to them a certain blond female was watching them. Naruto leaned back against a nearby rock.

"Hey Ni-chan, what happened to your friends Sakura and Sasuke? Why didn't they come with you?"

"Hm, oh Sakura-chan is back in Konoha, and Sasuke..." He paused. "I don't know where he is." He spoke honestly.

Inari noticed the look in Naruto's eyes. He saw that the topic of Sasuke was a sore subject. He decided to talk about something else.

"So, are you sure that Ino-chan isn't your girlfriend? You two seem pretty close to me."

Naruto just laughed. He then put his hand to Inari's hair, messing up his scruffy black locks.

"No, Ino-chan goes for those really weird pretty boy types. She and I are just friends, she wouldn't go for me." He spoke honestly.

"Okay if you say so. Hey, I'm going to go to bed now. I told Ino-chan that she could have my room, since it would be weird for you two to share a room."

"Where will you sleep?" Naruto wondered.

"It's fine, I'll take the couch; its not a big deal. You guys are guests. I'll see you in the morning, bye."

Bye, goodnight Inari."

Naruto was now alone. He soon got into a more comfortable position. The young man was now lying with his hand's behind his head. He took a breath before speaking.

"Hey, Ino-chan you can come out now."

The platinum blond soon walked over to him. She had a seat besides her whisker faced friend.

"Are you okay?" She wondered.

"Yeah I'm fine." He nodded.

"Sasuke is still a tough subject for you."

Naruto had always felt badly for not being able to get Sasuke to come back to Konoha. It took awhile, but he was soon able to accept that Sasuke had to make his own choices. If one day, the Uchiha decided to come back then he would like that. But he wasn't going to go out there and drag him back. There was no point in chasing after him anymore.

"I think that I'll always feel bad about not bringing him back. And sometimes I do feel like I should have tried harder."

"Naruto, no one tries harder than you. You did everything you could to get him to come back. If Sasuke can't appreciate that, then it's his loss."

Naruto raised an eyebrow to Ino. It sounded as if she was no longer a Sasuke fan girl.

"Sounds like you're not a big fan girl anymore?"

"Hm, I've been over that one for years. It was just a stupid crush that got out of control. I know that he was your friend, so it's okay that you think about him."

Naruto noticed the somewhat sad look in her eyes. He put his hand to her shoulder.

"You still think about Asuma-sensei a lot huh?"

"Yeah." She whispered. "He was like a second father to me. So, I'll always think of him. But there's a difference in our situations Naruto. Asuma-sensei is dead, Sasuke is probably still out there somewhere. He might come back one day, if so then you get your best friend back. But if not, at least you know that you did everything that you could."

Naruto only nodded, he knew that Ino had a point.

"I guess what I'm saying is don't put your life on hold. And stop worrying about if you didn't try hard enough. We both know that you did. Don't have any more regrets okay?"

"Alright Ino-chan."

"Good." A yawn escaped her. She stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go to bed now. What about you?" she wondered.

"I'm going to stay out here for a little while longer. Goodnight Ino-chan."

"Goodnight Naruto don't stay out here too long okay."

"Sure thing."

Ino left her blond haired friend alone. He used the time to reflect on everything the platinum blond had said to him. He was aware that everything that went down with Sasuke wasn't his fault. And he did indeed try his hardest. This was just one of those things that was beyond his control.

"Ino-chan was right, I did everything that I could."

Naruto decided that he would take the blue eyed girls advice. He shouldn't have any more regrets. It was best to just move on and live his life to the fullest.

"Besides." He smiled. "I can't become Hokage if I'm slacking off."

The blond boy stood up from the ground. He decided that it was time for him to retire as well. The entire house was quiet, meaning that everyone had to be asleep. Naruto found his room and sat down on the bed. He put on his infamous black night cap, he had a feeling that he would need it. A yawn escaped him. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so tired. He knew that he would get a good sleep tonight, he was definitely tired enough.

Naruto laid flat on his back, gazing up into the ceiling. It was such a nice, peaceful night he shouldn't have had a problem falling asleep. Although he felt the sleep, it simply wasn't coming for him. He tried sleeping in different positions, only nothing seemed to work. He eventually stood up and walked around the room. He paced back and forth.

"Gotta, get to sleep."

After a few minutes he stopped pacing and got back into bed. It was then the door opened. Naruto looked up, he saw that it was Ino. Her long blond hair had been released from its ponytail. Her hair was now cascading around her shoulders. He couldn't make out her facial expression but he knew that it was her.

"Um, Ino-chan." He mumbled.

The blue eyed girl stood there for a moment. She entered the room, and made her way over to him. Naruto watched as she got under the covers with him. Ino wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Uh Ino...what are you..."

He noticed that the young woman's eyes were closed. She had been asleep the whole time. He had no idea that Ino was a sleep walker.

"She was sleepwalking."

Naruto tried to move her away from him, only she had a deathly tight grip on him. She clearly had no intention on letting him go. He could barely even move over. They were extremely close right now. A sigh escaped him. It didn't look like he was going anywhere tonight. A small smile came to his face.

"Well Ino-chan, it looks like we're stuck for the night, huh?"

* * *

Back in Konoha Inoichi's father senses were tingling. He stood up from his chair and gazed out of the window. Something was happening, he was sure of it.

"Something is definitely happening out there. If my daughter has been deflowered or violated Uzumaki is a dead man."

"Inoichi-kun stop with the threats already and go to bed."

"Hai." He nodded in defeat. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Naruto's eyes popped open, a sneeze escaped him.

"Shit, it looks like someone's talking about me. That can't be good."

The blue eyed male looked down towards the sleeping Ino.

"Goodnight Ino-chan." He whispered.

**A/N: Alright so I hope that you all enjoyed this kick ass chapter. Well at least I thought it was killer. I totally stole that sleepwalking scene from Evangelion lol. Anyway I just need a bit of patience we will definitely get back to the present time soon. Read and Review please.**


	12. Truth revealed

**A/N: Okay, so I'm back with the next chapter of our wonderful story. The only thing I ask of you all is to show me a little mercy on this chapter. This is my first time writing an action scene, so please forgive how weak it is. And don't judge the whole chapter based on the action scene. Its a pretty good chapter nonetheless. So please enjoy. And thanks for all the reviews last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

* * *

The morning came, Ino felt the bright sunlight peering through the window. She put her hand on to something firm. Whatever she was laying on was certainly warm.

"Hm, what is this?"

A pair of blue eyes slowly opened. She looked up to see that she was sleeping on Naruto. The young man was asleep with his mouth wide open, and there was a drool line running down his chin.

"Oh, it's just Naruto." She closed her eyes again. It took Ino a minute to realize what was going on. Ino immediately opened her eyes.

"Naruto!, I was sleeping on Naruto. What the hell is he doing here?"

"Naruto?" She shook him.

There was no response from him. He looked like he was a heavy sleeper anyway. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of snoring.

"Boy, he can sure snore."

"Naruto, wake up." She shouted in his ear.

The second blond opened his eyes, and focused them on to Ino. Did she really have to be so loud this early in the morning. He didn't know what time it was. But it had to be too early in the morning for her to be shouting.

"Oh, Ino-chan you're awake."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Naruto, I just have one question."

"What is it?"

"What the hell are you doing in bed with me?"

At this point Naruto sat up as well. He hadn't forgotten that she had found her way into his bedroom last night. How could he have forgotten that little detail. They had fallen asleep so close to one another, and on top of that she refused to let him go last night.

"Calm down Ino-chan."

"No way, how did we end up like this? What happened? Didn't I tell you to try and resist me?"

Naruto frowned at this. Ino clearly had no idea what happened the previous night. He could see that he would have to explain to her what happened.

"Hey, hey you came on to me." Naruto told her.

"What!" She exploded.

"Well you did." Naruto nodded. "You don't remember, you were sleepwalking, and you found you're way in here. You got into bed with me Ino. I thought I told you not to have your way with me while I was trying to sleep."

"Shut up." Ino snapped. She suddenly grew quiet as realization came over her.

"Oh, I was doing it again huh."

He blinked, she didn't strike him as the type of person that would sleep walk. Ino let a yawn escape her.

"I'm sorry then." She apologized.

"Wait, you've done this before. So I'm not the first guy that you've jumped into bed with, I'm hurt." Naruto feigned sadness.

Ino held her mouth open slightly. She resisted the urge to hit him upside the head.

"This is serious. I used to have really bad nightmares around the time Asuma-sensei died. I started to sleepwalk every time I had a nightmare."

"Ino..." He started.

Suddenly the door opened. "Naruto-nii-chan good..." Inari stopped when he noticed the two blonds in bed together. They stared at him for a moment. A smile appeared on to the dark haired boy's face.

"Whoa, it looks like I've interrupted something. I thought that I told you two no funny business."

Ino turned red. "That's not funny, shut up Inari." She spoke and threw a pillow at his head. "For your information we're in bed like this by accident."

Inari dodged the pillow, he then let out a laugh.

"Yeah, alright, sorry." He apologized. "Anyways mom is making breakfast. Come down whenever you're ready. I'll go now." Inari then closed the door behind him. Ino was the first one to get out of the bed.

"Ino-chan, how often do you sleepwalk?"

"Not all the time, usually after a nightmare. Funny thing though, I really can't remember what the dream was about."

"Well then maybe it's a good thing that you don't remember."

"Maybe." She agreed. "Listen, I'm sorry about coming in here like that. I probably scared the hell out of you or something."

Naruto just shook his head. He was a little surprised, but he wouldn't say that she had scared the hell out him. If anything he was probably worried about her.

"No, I'm glad that you're okay now."

"Thanks, oh wait." She remembered something. "What was that crap last night about how I would never go for you?" She asked him.

"Huh, oh..."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short. You did manage to get me into bed with you, right?" She laughed.

Naruto frowned. "That's not funny Ino-chan."

"Yeah, but seriously don't be so down on yourself. I'm going to go I'll see you downstairs."

"Okay Ino-chan."

Naruto watched her leave. He really was glad that she was okay now. In the back of his mind he wondered why she had found her way into his room. It was probably nothing more than a coincidence. But she had found her way into his room. Out of all the places she could have ended up, why his room? He supposed that it was a good thing that she ended up there. At least she didn't get hurt.

Naruto went downstairs. He took a seat next to Inari. Tazuna was already seated at the table. Inari smiled at Naruto before turning to his grandfather.

"Gramps, guess what?"

"What is it?"

"Guess where I found Naruto and Ino-chan. They were in bed together."

Tazuna's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he began to cough loudly. Naruto glared at Inari. He should have known that little boy would pull something like this. He should have realized as soon as he saw him smiling.

"I thought that you were only friends Naruto-kun."

"We are." The blond nodded.

"I hope that you were, um, _careful_." The old man spoke with his eyebrows raised.

"What?" Naruto spoke.

Inari laughed at the confused expression on his friends face. Clearly Naruto didn't get what Tazuna was trying to say to him.

"He means that he hopes that you used protection." Inari laughed again.

"What!, there was no reason to be _"careful"_. Inari is totally taking things out of line. Yeah, we slept in the same bed last night but nothing happened."

"Oh, really?" Tazuna asked with his eye brow raised again. He didn't believe Naruto.

"Yes." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, Naruto-nii-chan is right. They were both fully clothed, thank god. Not that I would mind seeing Ino-chan naked, she is so hot."

Tazuna and Naruto grew silent. Neither one of them having anything to say right now. Inari hadn't noticed because he was too busy drooling, and off somewhere in his own world.

"Um Inari." Naruto started.

"Inari, if I were you I'd run."

"Huh, what, why?"

There was now the sound of knuckles being cracked. Inari gulped, he turned around to meet the pissed off face of Ino. She looked less than pleasant right now.

"You want to see what, Inari?"

"Um..."

"You have 5 seconds to run." Ino told him.

He didn't wait long. The dark haired boy got up and ran off, moments later Ino was running after him.

"Get back here you little perv."

Tazuna and Naruto could not contain their laughter. Inari ran out of the front door with Ino hot on his heels. She had no intention of giving up.

"_Damn, she wont give up."_ Inari thought.

"Naruto, you better go make sure that everything is okay out there." Tazuna told him.

Judging by the sounds of Inari's screams and pleas, Ino was showing little or no mercy at all.

"Okay." Naruto laughed. "I'm going."

Naruto walked outside to see Ino holding the younger boy in a headlock.

"Ino-chan, please let me go." He begged.

"No, not until you apologize for being a mindless pervert."

"Okay, okay I..." Inari looked up to see Naruto standing there grinning.

"Nii-chan help me."

"No way. You got into this mess, you get yourself out."

Inari sighed. He saw that Naruto would not be of any help to him. He would be on his own on this one.

"Apologize." Ino spoke threw clenched teeth.

"What, for saying you were beautiful."

"You know why, you idiot."

Inari struggled to break free of Ino's strong grip.

"Inari, Naruto-kun, Ino-chan, come in breakfast is ready."

Ino slowly started to loosen up her grip on the young man.

"I will let you go if you say sorry."

"Inari, you better just apologize." Naruto warned him.

"Alright already, I'm sorry Ino-chan."

"What are you sorry for?" She grabbed him again.

"I'm sorry for being a mindless pervert."

"That's a good boy." She smiled and then let him go.

Inari picked himself up off the ground and ran back into the house. That was the first and last time that he would ever piss Ino off. She was truly merciless. And Inari didn't want to die at the hands of a girl, no matter how beautiful she was.

"You scared him pretty good Ino-chan."

"Yeah I know." She grinned. "Oh well, serves him right. I'm starving, let's go get some breakfast."

Ino started walking towards the house. She didn't notice the nearby rock and ended up tripping. She almost fell to the ground, but Naruto caught her by the waist.

"Are you okay?"

She looked up, aqua orbs staring into his curious cerulean pools.

"Hai, I'm fine."

The two blonds stood staring at each other. Naruto had yet to let her go.

"Um..." He started.

"What's wrong? Are you going to kiss me for real this time or something?" She teased.

A slight blush rose to his cheeks. They didn't even notice Tazuna, Inari, or Inari's mother standing there watching them closely.

"Well, what are you waiting for boy go for it." Tazuna said.

"Yeah, if you're going to kiss Ino-chan, then do it already." Inari chimed in.

"And I thought that you two were only friends." Inari's mother smiled.

They turned their attention to the family. Naruto laughed and slowly he let Ino go.

"Ha, hah we weren't about to kiss. Ino-chan tripped I was just helping her up."

"Yeah." Ino nodded. "He wasn't really going to kiss me."

"Okay." The older woman spoke. "Come in so that we can have breakfast."

Tazuna shook his head in disappointment. Naruto could only shrug his shoulders. No more words were spoken, as everyone went back into the house to have breakfast. Ino and Naruto sat across from each other. Neither one of them giving the other eye contact. Instead they were both focused on the food on their plates.

"This is very good. It reminds me of my mother's cooking." Ino spoke cheerfully.

"Thank you very much Ino-chan."

"That's my mom. No one cooks like her." Inari spoke proudly.

The rest of breakfast went by pretty quietly. With hardly any conversations going on. Naruto couldn't really take the silence. It was starting to bother him, only at the same time be actually couldn't think of anything to say.

"Naruto, you barely touched your food. Is everything alright?" Inari's mother wondered.

"Oh, it's fine. I guess that I'm just not that hungry."

After breakfast Ino and Naruto sat outside talking about what their next move was going to be.

"Hey Ino-chan, do you want to go back to Konoha today, or what?"

I would like to stay a bit longer, but I never actually gave my mother all of the details. I just don't want my parents to be worried."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He could certainly respect that. So, they would head back to Konoha today.

"I understand, we'll go back today."

"Not that I wouldn't mind staying, They're all really nice people. I'm going to miss them."

"Even Inari." Naruto laughed.

"Yes even the perv."

Ino and Naruto looked up when they heard footsteps. There was Tazuna and his family, they were all smiling.

"It's okay if you two have to go. But remember you both are always welcome here."

"Thanks." Ino smiled.

"Yeah don't be strangers, Ino-chan, Naruto-kun. Please come back anytime."

"We will." Naruto nodded.

Once everyone said their final goodbyes, and Inari's mom handed them some lunch to take with them, Naruto and Ino left the house.

"Bye Ino-chan, Naruto-nii-chan." Inari shouted.

"Bye." The two teens spoke.

The journey across the bridge was a pretty silent one. Ino let out a sigh and put her hands behind her head.

"I'm really going to miss them. It was a fun visit."

"We can always come back Ino-chan. In fact maybe next time we can go to Suna. I know the Kazekage personally." Naruto smiled.

Ino looked over to her friend. She had no idea that he knew Gaara-sama in a personal manner.

"You know the Kazekage. How did you two become friends?"

"We um, have a lot in common."

If anyone understood the pain that he felt it was Gaara. They had been hated because they were both jinchuuriki's. Only Gaara had ultimately suffered more than Naruto had. Naruto was always grateful to have people like Iruka-sensei and the Sandaime. Although, now Gaara had no longer hosted Shukaku inside of him. He could definitely understand Naruto's pain.

"What do you have in common?" She asked.

"We, um both..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, he and I both understand what its like to be alone."

Ino blinked in confusion. Naruto started to walk ahead of her. She ran to catch up to him.

"Naruto what do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it Ino-chan."

"How can I not." She whispered.

* * *

Once across the bridge Naruto noticed something in the grass. His eyes lit up at all the ryo lying on the ground.

"Look at all that Ino-chan. Maybe someone dropped it."

He quickly ran over to the spot under the tree. Ino looked around in a suspicious manner.

"Naruto, you probably shouldn't..."

He bent down to pick up the money. He turned to her and grinned.

"Ino-chan, it's okay. I..." Suddenly a net came flying down and captured the surprised Uzumaki. Ino sighed, she tried to warn him that it might be some sort of trap. She pulled out a kunai and ran over to free him.

"You idiot, did you really think it was not a trap."

"Oh, look at what we have here. Two little Konoha shinobi." A man spoke.

Ino and Naruto looked up to see a dark haired man standing in the tree.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked.

The man let out a laugh. He leaned on his sword for support. It looked like a heavy sword. Naruto was instantly reminded of Zabuza's sword and Kisame's sword Samehada.

"My name is not of importance, little boy."

Ino released Naruto from the net, she helped him up from the ground.

"Aren't you the tough one." Ino spoke. "That's a pretty lousy trick to pull."

"I don't think its so lousy. Your foolish little friend over here fell for it right away."

Naruto squinted his eyes. He glared at the tall stranger.

"Oh yeah, you freaky looking bastard. Come over here and say it to my face."

The stranger jumped down from his spot in the tree. He slung his sword over his shoulder with ease. Naruto didn't even wait another second before running towards the stranger.

"Naruto wait." Ino called out to him.

"Don't you worry Ino-chan, I'll take this bastard out, its no problem."

The man swung his sword at Naruto. The blond dodged and jumped. He grabbed Naruto by his shirt collar and then threw into a nearby tree.

"Shit." Naruto cursed.

"You're quite the impatient one aren't you?"

"You just got lucky."

Naruto stood up quickly. Ino wondered why he didn't seem to be in any pain after colliding with that tree.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Five clones appeared around him. The stranger just let out a laugh. Was this boy serious with a simple jutsu like that. He knew that he could take it easy around these Konoha shinobi. All of the Naruto's ran at him.

"Well, I just have to slice each and everyone of you down until I find the real one."

He instantly sliced through all of the clones. He spotted the real Naruto, he ran forward grabbing him.

"You're a pathetic little boy." He spoke.

"Naruto be careful." Ino tried to warn him.

It was already too late. The young man was now trapped in a genjutsu. Naruto looked to see that he was alone. There was no Ino to be found.

"Ino-chan." He called out.

He received no answer. Suddenly the sky started to turn a dark red. He looked up to see the stranger in black. He had that same twisted grin on his face.

"Hello there."

"Where is Ino-chan?"

The man let out a laugh. He could see that Naruto was starting to get agitated.

"Don't fucking laugh, you bastard. Where is she?"

"Oh, you mean you're pretty little friend." He reached around him to reveal that he had captured the platinum blond.

"Ino." He tried to run to her. Only he couldn't because he was now being held back by two very large men. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Naruto?" She called out to him.

She tried to free herself from the stranger. But he had her legs and arms tied with ropes. She was now stuck in his clutches.

"Now you get to watch as I slice your pretty friend to pieces."

"No!" He shouted. "Let her go." He struggled to break free from his current state.

"Naruto, it's okay. I don't blame you for this, I still..." She was cut off when the man shoved a sword into her stomach. Naruto flinched when he heard an ear piercing scream.

"Ino!"

"Naruto..." She breathed. "It's okay."

He took two more swords and continued to stab the platinum blond. Naruto could do nothing except watch this scene play out before him.

"Fuck, I gotta get out of this genjutsu."

Naruto knew that he needed to get out of this. He needed to make sure that Ino was okay. Meanwhile Ino was leaning up against a tree. She needed to help Naruto get out of that genjutsu he was trapped in.

"Hm?" The dark haired man looked around for any sign of Ino. "It looks like you were abandoned by your teammate. How unfortunate."

Ino really wished that she had Shikamaru here. He would always watch over here whenever she left her body. Since there was no one that could watch over her. She dared not even attempt her jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu." She whispered. Unfortunately she was only able to make two clones. But it would be enough to cause a distraction.

"Distract that creep, while I go help Naruto."

The two clones and nodded and they ran off. Ino ran through the bushes making sure to keep hidden.

"Oh, what's this." He noticed the two Ino clones. "Not this silly little trick again. I guess I better find the real one."

Ino noticed Naruto on the ground in his unconscious state. She crawled over to him and put her hands over his chest.

"Release."

Blue eyes instantly popped open. He sat up with the help of Ino.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I've never been good at genjutsu." He smiled.

The man turned around to see that Ino had released Naruto from the genjutsu.

"I should have realized this. It was a foolish era on my part, never mind that. It wont happen again."

The dark haired male came charging at the two teens. Ino put her arm around his shoulder and lifted him up, together they jumped dodging his blade.

"Naruto, if you watch my body I can get into his mind."

"No way Ino-chan. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Where are you both hiding now, you little punks."

Ino then realized that she still had her arm wrapped around his shoulder. She quickly let him go.

"Naruto, I'll be alright. You distract him with your shadow clones, and I'll get into his mind."

Naruto shook his head no.

"I don't like your idea, I'm sorry Ino-chan."

He sent her a smile, before running back out to face the man.

"Naruto!"

"Okay you bastard try this on for size."

Ino watched as the young man started to perform his rasengan.

"Rasengan." He cried out and went charging at the man. He used the blade to shield himself from a direct hit with the rasengan.

"Pretty neat trick kid. You put a dent in my sword."

Naruto only smirked.

"Don't worry, next time I'll get you."

"Who says there will be a next time." He tried to strike Naruto with his sword, but Naruto jumped back. Ino pulled out a kunai and ran forward.

"I can't let you do everything, Naruto." She smiled.

She tried to slice him with the kunai, only he dodged.

"You missed girl."

"Whatever." She smiled. "Shinranshin no jutsu."

It was over, she left her body and entered the strangers. Naruto leaped forward to catch her body from falling to the ground.

"Heh, this guy isn't so smart after all."

"Ino-chan?"

"Yep, Naruto take care of this punk."

"With you inside of his body. No way, I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll be okay."

Suddenly the man hunched over, holding his head. He was trying to get Ino out of his head.

"Stupid girl get out of my head."

It didn't take him very long to get control of his body. In a matter of minutes he casted her out of his mind.

"Ino-chan are you okay?"

"Hai, I'm fine."

"That was a pretty neat trick girl. Too bad it didn't work."

Naruto lifted Ino off of the ground. The two of them jumped back from the stranger's blade again.

"Ino, you stay over here. I'll take care of this guy."

"But..."

"Trust me it'll be alright." He smiled. "Okay, now let's get serious." He told the man.

"You mean you were just kidding before, alright let's get serious. Come on." He motioned for Naruto to come charging at him.

Ino cursed herself for not being able to help him right now. She felt useless while watching Naruto do all of the fighting.

"I'm no good to him right now. I can't even help him."

While fighting Naruto, the stranger in black got an idea. He would use Naruto's weakness against him. He could think of no other weakness than Ino. She was his comrade, naturally he would want to protect her.

"Who do you want to protect?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Who do you want to protect? I think that you want to protect your little girlfriend over there."

The man stepped back and flung his sword in Ino's direction.

"Oh shit." Ino cursed.

That blade was going to pierce right through her. She needed to move out of the way, and she needed to do so now. She closed her eyes anticipating the feel of the blade. Only it didn't come. She opened her eyes when she didn't feel anything. There was Naruto standing in front of her. The sword had went through him. She noticed his blood leaking on the ground.

"Naruto?"

"I told you that I didn't want you to get hurt." he coughed. "Hey Ino-chan, it looks like you got what you wanted. Something did happen to us on our trip."

"Naruto, you idiot. What were you thinking?"

Naruto turned back to look at the man. His eyes flashed red.

"You tried to hurt her."

Naruto pulled the sword out of his stomach. Ino watched as more blood leaked on to the ground. Naruto went charging at the dark haired male. No one got away with hurting, or attempting to hurt one of his friends. Ino felt helpless once more, while watching Naruto attack the stranger. He pushed him to the ground and proceeded to claw at him.

Ino's eyes widened in surprise. Naruto was not showing any signs of slowing down. She wondered how he could keep going with all that blood pouring from his wound.

"Naruto?" She ran forward putting her hands to his shoulders. She needed to get him to calm down. "Naruto, stop its okay. You can stop."

After a few more moments of slicing up the man with his claws, he slowly started to calm down.

"Naruto." Ino pulled him back. "Naruto, calm down. It's alright, come here so that I can heal your wound."

"I'm fine. I'll be fine."

Ino blinked. How could he possibly be okay, after that sword wound through the stomach.

"You've got to be kidding. You're hurt."

"I'll be fine." He nodded. "Is he..."

Ino checked for any signs of life. The man wasn't dead, but he was badly injured.

"No, he isn't dead. But you seriously need to let me heal your wound."

Naruto slowly stood up, only he didn't stay up for long before falling back down. Ino moved to him. She put her hand over his wound and a green light emitted from her hand.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it. Naruto what the hell were you thinking?"

"I had to...I had to protect you."

She stared at him and he stared back at her. The two blonds not really knowing what to say at this moment. Ino opened her mouth to say something, but Naruto cut her off before she had the chance.

"Come on, let's go before this bastard opens his eyes."

Naruto didn't wait another second before walking off. Ino saw that she had no other choice,except to go after him. She still had one major question on her mind though.

"How can he move around after what happened?" She wondered.

* * *

The two blonds walked back to Konoha in complete silence. Ino had a lot of questions on her mind. Questions that only Naruto could give the answers to. Only at this time, she found that now wasn't the right place to ask them. As they were approaching the gates of Konoha it had begun to rain. The rain seemed to only come down harder. It didn't look like it was going to stop. The traveling companions entered the village. Naruto stood there for a moment. He then turned back to look at Ino. She was already staring at him with a curious expression on her face. She wanted to know what he was thinking, only she knew that now was not the time or place to invade his mind.

"Naruto?" She started.

"'Ino-chan, it's raining really hard right now. Let's go back to my place okay. I'm sure that you have some questions for me right?"

Ino only nodded. She felt that this conversation would be a serious one. They walked side by side to his apartment. He unlocked the door and stepped aside so Ino could enter first.

"I'll get you a towel so that you can dry off, and I'll make us some tea."

The platinum blond sat down across from his bed. She waited for him to come back with that towel and tea. Ino freed her hair from its ponytail. It was now cascading around her shoulders. When Naruto came back he stood there for a moment, just staring at her. She looked so beautiful to him right now.

"Wow." He whispered.

"Wow what? What's wrong?"

"Um nothing. Here Ino-chan." He handed her the towel. Their hands touched for a minute. Naruto quickly let go, but he could still feel the warm touch of her fingers. He walked over to the window, and began to stare out of it. The rain didn't appear to show any sign of letting up.

"Thank you Naruto, for the towel and the tea."

"Sure, no problem."

A sigh escaped the young male. Deep down he knew that he should tell her about the Kyuubi. Now was a perfect time than any. There was no real reason why he should hide it from her.

"What's wrong Naruto?" She wondered.

"Ino-chan, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure go ahead."

"Is the tea okay?"

Ino frowned slightly. She had a feeling that wasn't the question that he wanted to ask her. Why was he purposely stalling? What was he so afraid to say?

"It's fine, but that wasn't what you really wanted to ask me was it?"

"No, you got me." He grinned. "What I wanted to know was how you felt about earlier. Ino-chan did I scare you today?"

She blinked, her eyes never once left him.

"You mean when you wouldn't stop attacking that guy?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You really worried me Naruto. I was kind of afraid that you might have killed him. All of your behavior concerned me. But Naruto I..."

Naruto turned around to face Ino. The two blonds were now staring at each other from across the room. He wasn't really surprised by her response to his question.

"Hm." He nodded. "I'm sorry that I scared you."

"No." She shook her head. "If anything I was just really worried about you. I never seen you act like that before. And then when you protected me from getting hurt, you were losing so much blood. You could have bled to death. I still don't understand how you were able to keep fighting. I guess its that strong will of yours huh?" She managed to smile.

Truthfully she didn't know what to believe.

"Ino-chan?" He whispered.

"Naruto, what's really going on. And don't tell me that I'm imagining things. There's something on your mind right?" she asked him.

His silence was all the answer that she needed. There was something on his mind that he was thinking about. He was scared to tell her, she could feel it.

"Well..." He started. "There is something."

"Okay, well tell me. Or do I have to invade your mind." She threatened in a somewhat cheerful manner.

"No, that's not necessary Ino-chan. Do you remember when I said that Gaara and I had things in common?"

"Yeah, you said that you both knew what it was like to be alone. What did you mean by that, and please answer me this time."

"Alright, first let me show you something."

He quickly pulled off his shirt. Ino felt her cheeks flush red. It faded soon enough when she noticed that he had a seal mark on his stomach.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, you're probably wondering why I have this seal mark on my stomach. Do you know anything about Kyuubi, and the attack that happened here 17 years ago?"

She blinked again. She didn't really know much about it. The only thing she knew was that the Yondaime sacrificed himself and killed it.

"Well, my parent's might have talked about it before. You're talking about the fox demon that the Yondaime killed, right?"

Naruto gripped his fist in an attempt to gather up his courage. He only hope that things wouldn't turn out the way that they did in his dream. No matter what, he didn't want that to happen.

"Kyuubi was never killed. The only way to get rid of it was to seal it away, inside of someone."

Ino's eyes widened. She had a pretty good feeling where he was going with this.

"Naruto, you..."

"Yeah." He nodded. "He sealed Kyuubi inside of a newborn baby, 17 years ago. I'm not really surprised that you don't know much about it. None of the kids our age were told about it . Gaara is the only person who could understand what it's like to be a jinchuuriki. A holder of one of the tailed beasts."

The platinum blond felt the tears threatening to come down. Naruto was sharing something very personal with her. He had thought of her as someone that he could confide in. This was a big deal to her.

"The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside of me. When I was little I used to wonder why everyone hated me. Why no one wanted to be around me? I used to wonder what I did wrong. What did I do to make everyone despise me. It's the reason why I fought so hard to be noticed. I wanted people to stop looking at me like I was some sort of monster. It's one of the reason's why I want to be Hokage so badly. I just want to prove to everyone that I am somebody. That I'm not the Kyuubi."

Ino imagined how difficult it must have been for him, with people shunning him all the time. All she could think about was a small Naruto crying his eyes out at the pain. She had no idea that he had lived such a difficult life. She had never even bothered to find out. Ino felt badly for that. She should have took the time to really get to know the blond haired boy. Not that she would have really had any way of knowing. Naruto had never once complained. And he always wore a smile no matter what. She began to realize that the smile was a facade. He used that smile to pretend that everything was okay.

"_He's always using that smile to pretend that he's alright."_

"Gaara understands what it's like to feel what I've felt. He knows what its like to have everyone hate you. To have people look at you like your some kind of freak. All because of something that's not even your fault. I'm so proud of him for becoming Kazekage, for proving to his entire village that he wasn't really a monster. It's why I fight so hard to catch up to him so that I can become Hokage one day. Well..." He managed to smile. "Whenever Tsunade-Baa-chan decides to give me the title." He laughed a little.

"Naruto, that day when that man called you a monster..."

"He was talking about Kyuubi."

By now Ino could not stop the tears from flowing down her eyes. It was all too much to take. She wished that she would have know about this a lot sooner. She would have been a hell of a lot nicer to him. Maybe, just maybe they could have been friends a lot sooner. Ino knew that she couldn't change the past. But she could make up for it right now. Ino stood up, she wiped her tears away from her eyes.

"Naruto!" She cried out and ran into his arms. She placed her arms securely around his shoulders. He looked surprised by her behavior. He soon wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You are not a monster. I don't care what that drunk bastard said. I don't care what anyone says. It wont make me change my opinion of you. You are Uzumaki Naruto, not the Kyuubi."

"Please Ino-chan don't cry for me."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I'm sorry for everything. You should have never had to be alone, not for a single second. I'm sorry for not becoming your friend a lot sooner."

He felt the young woman's heartbeat. It gave him a warm, comforting sort of feeling.

"I'm not alone. I had people like Iruka-sensei and old man Hokage."

"You'll never be alone again, I'll see to it. You wont be alone because you have Tsunade-sama, Iruka-sensei, Forehead, all of your friends, and...and me." She added lastly.

She slowly pulled away from him. The blue eyed girl put her hand to the seal.

"I can't pretend to know how you and Gaara-sama feel. But I can understand. It must have been very painful for the both of you. It must have been so difficult."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "For Gaara more than me. He was always alone, I was lucky to have Iruka-sensei and everyone. I sometimes think that he's free now, at least he doesn't have to be a jinchuuriki any longer."

Ino blinked curiously.

"Gaara-sama is no longer a jinchuuriki?"

"No, it's a long story but he died. When the spirit of the beast is taken from the holder, the holder will die. This old lady named Chiyo brought him back to life."

Ino froze at Naruto's words. She didn't want to even think of something like that happening to him. He had become someone very important to her.

"Naruto, I don't want anything to happen to you. You have to promise that you'll be alright." She spoke teary eyed. Naruto then reached over and wiped the fresh tears out of her eyes.

"No problem there Ino-chan. I'll be fine, I still have to become Hokage don't I." He smiled.

"Yes, you sure do." She managed to smile back.

Ino turned her attention outside, a sigh escaped her.

"It doesn't look like the rain is going to stop anytime soon."

"Yeah." He agreed.

"Do you mind if I stay here the night?"

She didn't even wait for him to answer. Instead she had a seat on his bed.

"Ino, are you sure?"

"Yeah." She let out a yawn. "I'm pretty tired and there's no where else that I want to be right now." Ino admitted to him.

Naruto sat down in the chair across from the bed.

"Alright Ino-chan you can stay if you want."

"Come over here, lay with me."

"Huh?" He blushed.

"Well, its not like we haven't shared a bed before, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was different. You were like, unconscious or something."

"It's okay I don't mind. Besides its your place, who am I to kick you out of your own bed."

Naruto reluctantly placed himself besides the platinum blond. There was silence while the two blonds laid there staring into the ceiling. There was a good amount of space between them, so there were no problems.

"Naruto, it was probably hard for you to tell me your secret huh?"

"Yeah it kind of was." He nodded.

"I'm glad that you did." She yawned. "You...you can trust me."

Before Ino completely realized it she was fast asleep. Naruto turned to look at the sleeping girl. Based on impulse he put his arm around her, and that was how the two of them fell asleep, right in each other's arms. With nothing but the sound of the rain hitting the window pane.

**_A/n: Okay so I hope that you all enjoyed. I will see you for the next chapter. Read and Review please._**


	13. Something between us

**A/N: Hey all. I'm back with this chapter right now for a variety of reasons. A) I am very, very excited about this chapter, because it is full of Naruto/Ino goodness like we all want. And you can see why I'm also excited when you get to the end of this chapter. B) Because my birthday is coming up and I need ample time to party and go wild and crazy lol, j/k about the wild and crazy part. And C) See reason A. This chapter is by far my favorite. I worked really hard on it and I hope that you all enjoy it as well. Hopefully it goes better than last chapter. I only managed to disappoint one person, so that's a good thing. Anyway enough rambling on please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Naruto x Ino is forever! **

* * *

Ino woke up the next morning to find that she was alone. Naruto was not laying besides her. She had no idea where he had disappeared to. His side of the bed was cold, so he had obviously been gone for awhile. She assumed that maybe he had something to do.

"I guess that he didn't want to wake me up."

The platinum blond sat up in the bed. The sun was shining brightly. It looked like today was going to be a beautiful day. It was definitely a much better sight to see than yesterday's rain. When she heard the front door open, she looked up to see Naruto.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." He grinned. "Did you get enough rest?"

"Yes I did, thank you."

The blond male sat down in the chair. He had his back turned to her. Ino began to wonder if maybe she had done something wrong. Had she offended him in some sort of way..

"Um, Naruto?"

"Hai, Ino-chan?"

"Is everything alright? You're acting really weird."

"I don't think so." he replied. "Maybe it's all in your mind."

"No." She shook her head. "What's going on? Did something happen? I'm not going to end our friendship because of what you told me."

There was silence for awhile. Ino waited patiently for Naruto to respond. She wondered why he seemed so distant. He had never acted this way around her before.

"What do you understand about it? You have no idea what it's like to be me Ino."

"You're right." She agreed. "I never said that I knew what you felt. I only said that I can imagine how hard life was for you. Naruto I..."

"I don't want your apologies, save them."

Ino frowned at his behavior. Why was he suddenly acting like such a jerk? Naruto may have been a lot of things, but he was definitely not a jerk.

"Naruto, what's your problem? Geez someone looks like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

She then noticed Naruto's shoulders slumped over. He was starting to shake in an uncontrollable manner. This behavior concerned her.

"Naruto?" Ino got up with a worried expression on her face. She tried to touch him, but he only pushed her away from him.

"Stay away." He growled.

The blond girl looked into his eyes, which was now a shade of red instead of his beautiful cerulean blue color. She also noticed the red glow that emitted from his body.

"Naruto what's going on?" She managed to ask.

"Just stay away from me." He told her.

Ino shook her head no. She wasn't going to leave him like this. He was her friend, and friends helped each other. The blue eyed girl proceeded to walk towards him. He didn't even bother to budge. He stared at her with emotionless eyes. The smaller blond tried to touch him. He only pushed her hand away from him.

"Don't!"

"Naruto I just want to help you."

"You cant help me. This is only a little peek of Kyuubi's influence on me. You haven't even begun to really experience the rest of Kyuubi's powers. Do you still want to be my friend after this?" He asked.

Ino nodded. "You know that I'm still your friend. This doesn't change anything."

Naruto sighed. "I'll just have to teach you a lesson that you will never forget."

The boy leaped forward and attempted to maul her down.

"No!" Ino screamed.

* * *

She was awoken from her dream, by Naruto putting his hand on to her shoulder. There was sweat pouring from her forehead. He noticed that she looked like a complete wreck.

"_Come on, pull yourself together Ino. You know that Naruto would never do that. He got in the way of a sword for you remember?"_

"Ino-chan?" He asked worriedly.

She turned to see the concerned face of her whisker faced friend. Ino didn't want to tell him the details of her nightmare, so she gave him a warm smile.

"Hey Naruto."

"Are you alright? You woke up screaming."

"It was only a bad dream, I'm okay now."

"Good." He smiled. "I don't want you to be afraid Ino-chan."

Slowly the smile from his face faded. It was replaced with a more serious expression. Ino studied his features, he looked like he had something important to say.

"Ino?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you tired?"

She stared at her friend, wondering where that question was coming from. How could she possibly be tired? She was wide awake right now.

"Tired?" She questioned.

"Yeah." He then moved closer to the platinum blond. He put his hand to her cheek. "Aren't you tired of denying that you have feelings for me?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't be afraid anymore Ino-chan, it's okay." He then leaned forward pressing his lips to hers. She looked surprised by his actions. Yet she soon relaxed into the taller blond's kiss. It was awhile before they broke away.

"See, didn't that feel better?" He asked.

"I...Naruto?"

The young woman woke up once more. Ino felt her heart racing from that second dream. She took a breath in an effort to calm herself down. Ino turned to her left to see that Naruto was still asleep, with his mouth wide open and all. She smiled warmly. This was the lovable goof ball that she was used to seeing. When Ino started to move to get up, Naruto opened his eyes at the movement.

"Hey, Ino-chan did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah I did. Come on, get up alright I'm starving."

"Sure." He nodded.

The two blond entered the kitchen together. She opened his refrigerator and her eyes widened in horror. There was nothing there except for a carton of milk. Which looked like it was on the verge of going bad. Ino was sure she had never seen a refrigerator so bare.

"Damn Uzumaki, when was the last time that you brought groceries."

"Um?" He put his hand to his chin. "It's been awhile."

"Clearly." She spoke. "Alright get washed up, change your clothes, and let's go."

"Go where?" He wondered.

"We're going back to my house, so that we can have a decent breakfast. And I'm sorry but ramen does not qualify. We're going to eat something that does qualify as a good breakfast."

"Aw man." He pouted.

Ino just chuckled at his more than predictable response.

"Go on, I'll be waiting for you."

Naruto could only nod. He found no point in arguing with the platinum blond. Besides, who was he to pass up a free meal. The only down side was that it wasn't going to be ramen. He washed up and changed his clothes. Deciding to wear a black t-shirt and his trademark orange pants. Ino was waiting for him outside of his apartment. Once he joined her, he locked the door and the two teens departed for Ino's house.

"Alright breakfast awaits." She cheered loudly.

Naruto felt his stomach grumbling at the mere mention of food. Ino turned to look at him, she smiled.

"It looks like someone is pretty hungry too."

"You bet." He grinned. "I' am starving."

She noticed Kiba and Hinata holding hands. They were walking in their direction. Ino suddenly put his arm around her and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Hi you guys." Ino smiled.

"Hello Ino-chan, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled back.

Kiba nodded, giving the blond duo the thumbs up.

"Hey you two." Naruto spoke. "You're out kind of early."

"Yeah, well so are you." The brown haired teen pointed out.

"I'm making my man breakfast at my house. Is that okay with you Kiba?"

"Okay." He laughed. "Geez, why are you so touchy this morning. Oh I get it, is it that time of the month or something?" Kiba whispered.

Ino's eyes turned white, Hinata turned red, and Naruto looked worried. He knew that Ino was about to explode. It was only a matter of time.

"5...4...3..." He started to count.

"What!" Ino shouted. "I'll kill you Inuzuka." She then punched him upside the head.

"Ow, Naruto control your girl. She's out of her mind."

"Heh." Naruto laughed. "Ino-chan is her own person. I can't control her."

"I'll show you out of control Kiba. Hina-chan excuse me while I kill your boyfriend."

"Ino-chan?" Hinata went wide eyed.

Kiba hid behind Hinata while Ino proceeded to yell at him. Naruto was growing weary of this constant bickering. He suddenly picked the platinum blond, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Naruto! Put me down."

"Come on Ino-chan you can kill Kiba later, remember breakfast awaits." Naruto spoke hopefully.

"Alright, Alright just put me down."

"I will if you promise not to kill him."

"I'm not afraid." Kiba laughed. "Come on Yamanaka bring it."

He was testing Ino by trying to see how far he could push her. Ino decided that she would not fall into his trap. She would be the bigger person this time.

"Okay come on Naruto lets go. Bye Hinata, bye Kiba this isn't over." She promised.

"Whatever." He laughed again. "I'll be waiting."

"Shut the hell up. Naruto put me down already."

Naruto nodded and finally placed the blue eyed girl down on the ground. The two blond's continued on to Ino's house. Both of them doing their best not to bring up her earlier confrontation with the feral boy. Once at her house Ino opened the door and walked in first. All of the lights were off showing no signs of her parents being home.

"Mom, Daddy?"

She cut the lights on. Naruto stood there looking around, when he noticed a note on the table.

"Hey Ino-chan, it looks like they left you a note."

He handed her the piece of paper with her mother's neat handwriting. She quickly read through the note. It basically said that her parents had went to visit some family.

"Oh." She sighed in relief. "They went to visit my aunt. Well, at least I don't have to worry about them. Naruto have a seat okay. I'm going to go change out of these clothes, and then I'll see what I can cook for us."

Naruto looked completely surprised. He could only hold his mouth open. He was unable to form any words at that moment. Ino had her eyebrow raised in question.

"What? What did I say?"

"You can cook?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Of course I can."

"I didn't know that. You were always talking about dieting. I thought that you disliked food or something."

The blue eyed girl could only sigh, leave it to Naruto to say something to that effect. Just because she used to be a diet fiend, that didn't mean she disliked food.

"Never mind, I wont even respond to that. You just relax okay. I'll be right back."

She then turned to go upstairs. The blond male sat down on the couch. In true Naruto fashion it didn't take long for him to get restless. He got up from the couch and started to look at all the items around the house. Things were kept in such a neat manner. He almost felt bad for not being able to keep his apartment half this neat. He knew for a fact that he would never be this tidy.

"_They're all a bunch of neat freaks."_ He thought.

He then noticed all of the pictures. There was a picture of a 5 year old Ino standing next to her father. He smiled at how cute she looked in the photo. He had almost forgotten that she used to have short hair. To him, she looked pretty either way. He also saw other various family photos. But when he noticed a picture of a small blond haired boy he paused. Who was he? Naruto was sure that he had never seen him before. The boy looked a lot like Ino. He was obviously a family member.

"Do you see something interesting?" He soon heard Ino's voice.

He turned around to see the platinum blond coming down the stairs.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Ino-chan who is this?" He pointed to the boy with the long blond locks. Ino walked over to him, so that she could see what he was talking about.

"Oh." She whispered. "That's my brother. We don't really talk about him too much."

"Why?" He wondered.

"He um, died when he was younger. I never actually met him." She admitted.

"I'm sorry." Naruto apologized.

Ino nodded. She wiped the single tear from her eyes. She wished that she did have the opportunity to meet her older brother. Unfortunately she had never been given the chance to know him. She did however always notice how much they looked alike. They could have been twins for gods sake.

"It's not your fault. He was really sick."

She then placed a warm smile on her face. "I'm going to see about breakfast. Why don't you sit?"

"Do you need some help?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'll be okay, you're my guest after all. I can't have you doing things, what would my mother think?" She laughed.

Ino said no more and disappeared into the kitchen. The blond boy looked at the picture once more before sitting back down. He never knew that Ino even had a brother. She hadn't ever mentioned him, not one single time. He had always assumed that she was an only child. He realized that there was probably a lot more to Ino than he first knew.

"I just though that she was a pretty, loud girl who really liked flowers. I guess that there's more to Ino than meets the eye."

"Ow." He soon heard.

"Ino-chan are you okay?"

"Yeah everything is under control."

He didn't believe her, something in her tone of voice told him otherwise. She sounded like she was in pain. He entered the kitchen to see Ino holding her bleeding finger.

"You're hurt." He quickly noticed.

"It's nothing, really." She smiled.

"Where do you keep your band aids?"

"In that cabinet right there." She pointed.

Naruto reached for the band aids, then took her by the hand. He led her to the sink and ran the water over the cut. Once the bleeding had stopped he put the band aid on.

"There its all good now."

"Thank you." She nodded. Ino soon noticed that he had yet to let go of her hand. "Naruto, I'm okay you can let go now." She reminded him.

"Oh okay, I'm sorry."

"Now get back out there so that I can finally get breakfast started, at last." Ino added.

"Fine, alright, yes ma'am." He smiled.

He only hoped that she wouldn't hurt herself again. Sure it was only a small cut, but for some reason seeing her bleed didn't sit well with him. He felt the urge to make sure that she was okay. He assumed that it was simply because they were friends. He sat back down on her couch. He soon heard the front door open and he was greeted by Mr and Mrs. Yamanaka.

"Oh." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke in a surprised manner.

Inoichi looked exhausted. It looked like he hadn't gotten a good nights sleep in days. To be perfectly honest the man looked like hell. Naruto was sure he had never seen him look this way before. He usually looked more serious and intimidating. But right now the bags under his eyes were saying otherwise.

"Um, I am very tired. Am I seeing things or are you Naruto? Honey is that Uzumaki Naruto sitting right there in our living room. I could be wrong."

"Yes dear it is. Hello there Naruto."

"Oh hi Mrs. Yamanaka, Mrs. Yamanaka. You're probably wondering why I'm here right?"

"Yes." Inoichi nodded. "If you are here then where is my daughter?" He immediately asked.

"She um..."

"Oh god, what happened. Is she hurt? Did she get lost somewhere? Did she meet some other boy." His voice was now in a dangerous tone.

"Ino-chan is..." Naruto started again.

Ino ended up coming out of the kitchen when she heard voices. She smiled upon seeing her parents.

"Hi mom, daddy. I invited Naruto over for breakfast, is that okay?"

"Sure it's definitely not a problem." Her mother spoke.

Inoichi walked over to his daughter. He sighed before wrapping his arms around her in tight hug. Ino coughed, while trying to breathe.

"Thank Kami you are alright."

"Daddy calm down. I was only gone for a few nights. There's no need to worry."

"And nothing happened to you. You aren't hurt or worse. You didn't get lost or anything like that. You're back home in one piece. And you didn't meet any weird, strange boys on your trip?"

"No, unless you're counting Naruto." She smiled. "I was with him the whole time. He was great company, right Naruto?"

"Sure." He nodded.

Inoichi tiredly sat down in the armchair across from the couch. Naruto waited for him to say something. He only hoped that Inoichi was too tired to threaten to kill him.

"Thank you Naruto for taking care of my daughter."

"No problem sir."

"Alright, now that, that's over I'm going to finish making breakfast."

"Do you need any help dear?" Her mother asked.

Truthfully she really wanted to do this on her own. She wanted to prove to her whisker faced friend that could indeed cook.

"Mom I sort of want to show Uzumaki that I can cook."

"Alright." She nodded. "I'll just be your assistant. I'll let you do everything."

"Sure." Ino agreed to this, knowing that her mother would not back down. The two blond females entered the kitchen, leaving Naruto and Inoichi alone. The older male opened his tired eyes. He then focused his attention on to the whisker faced boy.

"Naruto it's okay. You can tell me if anything happened on your trip. I wont get upset."

Somehow Naruto seriously doubted that. What was he supposed to say.

"_Oh guess what. I slept in bed with your daughter, not once but twice."_

He already envisioned his death at the hands of Mr. Yamanaka. If he told him that the older male was sure to blow a fuse.

"We got into a fight with this weird guy. But we managed to pull it together in the end. We're both okay Mr. Yamanaka."

"Good, that's good. I'm glad that you're both okay. So why the Land of Waves." Inoichi wondered.

"I went to visit a family over there. Ino-chan wanted to come with me, and you know how she is." Naruto laughed. "She's her own person."

"Yes." Inoichi nodded. "I see. Naruto I appreciate the fact that you took care of her. She is my only daughter so I often worry about her. I want to be honest with you son. I can see why my wife liked you so much in the beginning. She said that you were good for Ino-chan. I agree, I don't think that I've ever seen her happier. I have one question to ask you though. Did you have the chance to tell her about the Kyuubi yet?"

Naruto nodded, he would never forget the events of last night. It had been such an emotional moment between the two of them. It was a moment that he felt was very important for them. He hadn't expected her to shed those tears for him. In fact he had wished that she hadn't. He couldn't stand to see anyone crying.

"Yeah, Yamanaka-san I told her. She was very understanding."

"Hm." He nodded. "I knew that she would be. I' am glad that you told her, this will make things a lot easier for the two of you."

"Yeah I'm glad that I told her too."

* * *

Meanwhile inside of the kitchen, Mrs. Yamanaka decided that she would have a conversation with her daughter. She wanted to know what had happened on the trip to the Land of Waves.

"So how was your trip with Naruto-kun?"

"Um, it was interesting. I learned a lot when I was with him. He has really great friends mom. I met a really nice family when I went to the Land of Waves with him."

"That's nice dear. But you said that you learned a lot. Did he perhaps tell you something important?"

Ino grew silent as she continued cooking breakfast for everyone. She knew that her parents had to already know about Naruto's secret. So they wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn about it.

"Yeah, he told me that he was a jinchuuriki. He told me all about the Kyuubi. So I know everything now."

Ino's mother nodded. She was glad that Naruto had finally gotten the chance to tell her the truth. It would be much better now that she knew.

"How do you feel about that Ino-chan?"

"I'm only sorry that I didn't become his friend a lot sooner. I could have been nicer to him. I should have been nicer to him. And I wish that things weren't so difficult for him when he was growing up. You know what, he never once complained. And Naruto tries harder than anyone I've ever seen. But despite the past Naruto is still my friend. I wont change my opinion of him, just because of his secret.

"That's very good Ino-chan. Naruto is a fine young man. I told you that he would be good for you. It seems that I was right."

Ino nodded in agreement. She then gave her mother a warm, bright smile.

"He is, I agree with you. I wish that he didn't wait so long to tell me though."

"You can understand why he was so reluctant though, can't you dear. A lot of people have treated him unfairly just because of his secret. He had to be nervous about telling you. He didn't want you to end up rejecting him like some of the other villagers. People can be unnecessarily cruel you know."

"Yeah, I understand that. But he really didn't have to be, everything was going to be okay. Naruto is still the same person to me. No matter what he had to tell me I wouldn't change who he is to me."

Mrs. Yamanaka listened carefully to her daughter's tone of voice. It was obvious to her that Ino cared about him very much.

"You really care about him, huh?"

Ino began to put the food on the plates. She had her back turned to her mother. Only Mrs. Yamanaka needed no words. She could almost sense her daughter's feelings.

"It's alright. You don't have to say anything Ino-chan."

Naruto soon looked up when he saw Ino and her mother coming in with breakfast for everyone.

"Okay Naruto we can finally eat, sorry it took so long."

"No problem. You're father kind of went to sleep though." He pointed to the sleeping man in the chair. Ino's mother chuckled lightly.

"I'm going to help your father up the stairs. You two just enjoy breakfast alright. Come on Inoichi-kun let's get up the stairs okay."

"Hm, five more minutes." He mumbled.

The two blond teens simply smiled at the older man's behavior. They then sat at the table so that they could finally eat their breakfast. Naruto wasted no time in digging in. He was clearly starving. Ino waited to see what his reaction would be. When his eyes lit up she assumed that he liked her cooking.

"Wow Ino-chan this is really good."

"I told you that I could cook."

"Yeah, I might have to get you to cook for me at my apartment sometimes." He laughed.

It was then an idea came to the platinum blond. She didn't have time to east her breakfast right now. There was something that she just had to take care of now. Eating would simply have to wait awhile longer.

"Naruto hand me the keys to your place."

"Huh, what, why?"

"I um, I think I left something at your place. I want to go get it now. You stay here and eat alright. I'll try to hurry back as fast as I can."

Naruto reluctantly handed the blue eyed girl his keys. He wasn't really sure what to make of the whole thing. The only thing he knew right now was that eating was extremely important. Besides, the food was too good to just get up and leave.

"Um, alright Ino-chan."

"Arigato, I'll be right back."

She ran out the front door and didn't look back. Naruto simply shook his head, then continued to eat his breakfast. Ino did now go to his house right away. She did however run down to the grocery story. She hurried around the aisles picking up various items. She even managed to throw his favorite instant ramen in the mix. She wasn't sure if it really mattered what flavor she got, he was bound to eat it anyway.

"_Knowing him he'd eat anything that said ramen. The flavor really doesn't matter, not to Naruto anyway. He is however going to be completely blown away." _She thought with a smile.

She soon paid for all of her items and left the store. She was so busy carrying the groceries she didn't see who she had walked in to.

"Oh, I'm sorry I..." She looked to see that she had bumped into Sakura of all people. "Never mind it's just you forehead. In that case I'm not really sorry."

"Ino-pig I haven't seen you around for a few days. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go."

"Why are you in such a rush?"

"No reason, I just want to get away from you." Ino teased with a smile.

Sakura ended up smiling back. She knew that Ino was just kidding with her. The smile on the pink haired teen's face slowly faded. She then looked her friend directly in the eyes.

"Did you leave the village or something?" She asked knowingly.

"As a matter of fact I did. It's not really any of your business though."

"Right, okay." She nodded. "I'll see you around alright pig. Oh, and tell Naruto I said hi okay. I hardly ever get the chance to see him anymore."

"I will forehead. After all he really does like spending all of his time with me. See ya." She waved.

Sakura stood there watching her friend walk away. She wanted to be able to get some answers out of the platinum blond. Only she decided that right now wasn't the time. She folded her arms across her chest.

"I'll wait before I ask them. But something is definitely up for sure."

* * *

Ino made her way to Naruto's apartment. She placed all of the groceries into his refrigerator. She then scribbled a quick note and placed it on the front door. Ino smiled at her handy work. She felt good doing this for him. He was in desperate need of groceries.

"Alright, that takes care of that. I'd better get back now."

Naruto had long since finished breakfast. He was now helping Mrs. Yamanaka wash the dishes.

"Naruto-kun, you don't really have to help me."

"It's fine Mrs. Yamanaka, I don't mind."

"You are a very helpful young man. Why it's no wonder why Ino-chan likes you so much."

The spiky headed blond paused. She noticed that there was a slight blush on his face. It soon faded away as if it had been there.

"Y...Yeah." He stuttered. "We're friends so she has to like me right?"

"That's not really what I meant. Never mind, I'm sure that you two will figure it out sooner or later."

Once the dishes were clean and put away, the two blonds went back into the living room.

"Oh that's right. I better go open up the shop. Naruto-kun do you..." She paused as she noticed the way the picture of her son was now placed. It wasn't in the place that it was usually kept in.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Yamanaka. I was looking at it earlier I thought I put it back in the right spot."

"That's alright Naruto-kun." She then walked over to the picture and fixed it. "My son." She started. "He looks a lot like Ino-chan, huh?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"They look like they could have been identical twins or something. Of course he is a few years older than her. So they couldn't possibly be twins for real. I just always found it funny how much they truly look alike. It was very hard on Inoichi-kun and I when we lost him."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"That's okay. He was a very sick child. I suppose that it was inevitable, that doesn't mean that it hurt any less though. We've never really gotten over his death. He was our first child. Inoichi-kun's first and only son, and you know how father's can sometimes be about their son's."

"Yeah." Naruto whispered.

"But we we're very blessed to have Ino-chan years later. I suppose that's why Inoichi-kun is so protective of her. She's his princess, his pride and joy, the only child that he has left. Yes, we were very lucky to get the chance to have our little girl after he died."

"How old was he when he died?"

"He was about 6." She answered. "He was such a warm, respectful child. He always tried to smile no matter how sick he was. And he always wanted a little brother or sister. I'm glad that I had the chance to give him one, even if he's never actually met Ino. He was my angel. We loved him very much. I wished that there was something that we could have done for him, anything to stop him from dying." She whispered that last part with tears in her eyes.

Naruto appreciated the fact that Mrs. Yamanaka was sharing such a personal experience with him. In a way he felt very honored that she would even want to share this with him. It made him feel a little bit closer to the Yamanaka family than ever before.

"I think, no I know that your son would have loved his little sister. He would have probably spoiled her rotten, and be just as protective of her as Mr. Yamanaka." Naruto spoke. "I know you wish that you could bring him back. And you'll probably wish that for the rest of your life. But Mrs. Yamanaka it wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for what happened to him, okay." He tried to smile. "It was no one's fault, try to remember that. Besides I doubt that he would want you to blame yourself."

The older blond haired woman managed to smile back. He had no idea who much she appreciated those words at this moment.

"Thank you very much Naruto-kun. Those were very comforting words. When you have a family of your own one day, all I can say is cherish them."

"I will." He nodded.

"Good, now I better go open up the shop, take care."

"I will, bye Mrs. Yamanaka."

Before long the front door opened. He looked to see that Ino was back.

"Oh hey Ino-can. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Huh, what are you..." She paused. "Oh yeah, everything is good. Here are your keys." She then handed him back his keys. He was more than just a little curious. What did she leave at his apartment that was so important?

"Um..." He started.

"So." She interrupted. "How did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"It was great." He smiled. "You're really awesome Ino-chan."

"Thank you. I certainly try."

The two teens stared at each other for a moment. There was a sort of uneasy silence between the two of them. Ino couldn't help but wonder what she should say at this moment. Only before she had the chance to say anything, Naruto spoke first.

"Well, I think that I should go." Naruto started.

"Why? You don't have to you know. You can stay for awhile."

"Yeah I know. But I'm going to go. Thanks again for breakfast, it was great."

"It was no problem. I'll see you Naruto and don't be a stranger okay. You don't ever need an invitation to come over to see us."

He nodded then gave her a warm smile. He really appreciated her words right now. Naruto was thankful that their friendship hadn't changed any, because of what he told her. In short, he had worried for no reason at all. She didn't hate him and they were still friends.

"Thanks a lot Ino-chan, take care okay."

"I will." She waved goodbye. "I'll see you around."

"Bye Ino-chan."

Naruto walked back to his apartment in a great mood. There was nothing that could possibly ruin his mood right now. When he got closer to his apartment he noticed Tenten and Lee. They were holding hands, and looked very happy as usual. Naruto simply smiled at the couples happiness. He secretly wondered if he would have that for real one day. Not that pretending with Ino wasn't an experience in itself. He just wondered what it would be like to one day have that kind of relationship for real. He opened the door to his place. He immediately went to the kitchen for something to drink.

"Man, I'm thirsty. I guess that it's milk for me then."

He remembered that he needed to go grocery shopping as soon as possible.

"Note to self, buy some groceries."

The blond male opened the fridge to see that it was completely stacked.

"Whoa," he paused. "What the..." He was so focused on the inside of the refrigerator, that he hadn't noticed the note that fell on to the floor. Once he did he bent down to pick it up. There was Ino's neat handwriting.

"_Just doing a favor. Remember to always keep your fridge full, Uzumaki."_

He smiled at the girl's thoughtful behavior. She really didn't have to do any of this for him. He was certainly more than a little grateful.

"Wow, so that's why she wanted my keys." He folded the note up and put it into his pocket. He wouldn't forget this for a very long time. He had to repay her for her kindness one day.

"Hm." He smiled. "Thanks a lot Ino-chan."

* * *

**(Days later)**

The platinum blond was in an extremely great mood. Her mother had let her take the day off from watching the shop, so she now had nothing but extra time on her hands. As far as she knew she had no missions to be on. And there was only one person she wanted to spend this time with.

"I wonder where Naruto is?"

She checked Ichiraku's first, hoping that his stomach would lead him here.

"Hey Teuchi-san good afternoon."

"Oh, hello there Ino-chan. Are you here for a bowl of ramen?"

"Um no, not really. Have you seen Naruto? I was hoping to catch up with him."

"No I haven't seen Naruto yet. But he should be by soon. It's nearly three he'll be needing his ramen pretty soon." Teuchi laughed.

Ino laughed as well, agreeing completely with the old ramen chef. Ino really did hope that the spiky headed blond would come by here. Sh e wanted to treat him to a bowl of ramen. She was in a very generous mood right now.

"I'll just wait for him here. You don't mind do you Teuchi-san?"

"Not at all, why don't you have a bowl of ramen while you wait. It's on the house."

"Alright Teuchi-san if it's free."

She couldn't say no to Teuchi-san, not now, not when he had offered it to her for free. So she happily ate the entire bowl. She was especially hungry since she had skipped out on breakfast that morning. The blue eyed girl decided that one bowl of ramen a week was something that she could do. But there was no way that she could eat as much as Naruto. She could never pack it in the way that Naruto was able to.

"Ah, you were pretty hungry." Teuchi noticed.

"Yeah I guess so." Ino nodded.

As time went by it didn't seem like Naruto was coming. The platinum blond was beginning to get restless. She stood up from the stool.

"Teuchi-san, I'm going to go try to find him. If you happen to see him could you tell him that I was looking for him."

"Sure thing Ino-chan, bye."

"Bye." She waved.

For awhile Ino wandered the streets alone, looking for any sign of her whisker faced friend. His loud, all to recognizable voice, that wild unruly blond hair, or even his trademark orange and black jumpsuit. Unfortunately she hadn't seen or heard any of those things. Soon two voiced pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hello Ino-chan, how are you on this very youthful day." Lee asked.

"Hey Ino." Tenten said.

"Hey you guys, you um, haven't seen Naruto around have you?"

"Oh." Tenten tried to remember.

"Yes, I saw him training. But that was much earlier."

"Thanks Lee. I think I know where he is. Maybe he's still there, bye." She then ran off.

"But wait..." Lee called out.

"He wasn't alone." Tenten finished, only the blue eyed girl hadn't heard them because she was already gone. Ino had a feeling that he had to be at the training grounds where the former team 7 used to train. She was happy to see that she was right. She spotted that head of spiky blond hair. Only she was less than thrilled to see who he was with. Naruto was not alone. Her smile quickly faded when she saw who he was with. It was none other than Sakura. Ino quickly hid herself in the bushes, as to not be seen by either of them.

"Come on Sakura-chan let's get serious already." He grinned.

"This is just practice Naruto. You don't want me to really get serious." She smiled back.

Although it was something completely innocent like training. Ino felt like it was something much more than that. She observed the way that they were looking at each other, their smiles, the laughter. It left her with an unsettling feeling.

"Naruto you have to teach me the rasengan one day."

"Hm, it's not easy Sakura-chan. You've got to be determined."

"I' am." She nodded.

"You've got to be precise and have skill." He smiled.

"I've got that, definitely." She spoke confidently.

"Also..." He started.

"What?" She wondered.

"You have to be ticklish."

"Huh?"

He ran over to the green eyed girl and began to tickle her furiously. Sakura started busting out laughing. She fell to the ground, bringing Naruto down with her. The blond in the bushes couldn't believe the display. The other two teens were now on the ground, and according to Ino they were too close for comfort. Naruto had his arms wrapped around her waist, and Sakura was now leaning into his chest.

"_Get the fuck away from him."_ Ino thought.

"Okay, okay." Sakura laughed. "Let me go right now or I'll punch you." She threatened.

Naruto quickly let her go, he didn't want to suffer from the wrath of the pink haired girl.

"You got it Sakura-chan." He stood up first. He then took her hand so that he could help her up as well.

"Come on it's late, we've been out here all morning. I'll treat you to some ramen. Or do you have something else that you need to do?"

Naruto stood there thinking for a moment. He was positive that there was nowhere that he needed to be right now. Ino on the other hand was hoping that he would turn the other teen down. It was still early, and she had nothing but free time.

"_Come on Naruto, tell her no."  
_

Only she wasn't really expecting him to turn her down. She was Sakura after all, and this was an offer of free ramen. To him this was probably a dream come true.

"_What am I thinking? There's no way that he would turn her down."_

Naruto's stomach had answered Sakura's question. The pink haired teen laughed.

"Come on let's go get that ramen."

"Sure thing Sakura-chan."

It was then that Ino decided that she would follow them. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, but right now, at this moment she was feeling extreme jealousy. She hated to feel that. She hated to see them together. Ino had to make sure that Sakura kept her hands to herself.

_"Wait, why the hell do I even care. It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything."_

_"**It's the principal of things Ino. You have to protect what's yours."** Inner Ino spoke._

_"I..."_

_"**No, you know that I'm right. Are you going to let forehead steal him right from under your nose?"**_

_"But..." Ino whispered._

_"**You've got to fight for your man Ino."**_

_"Yeah." Ino agreed. "She'd better keep her hands off of him."_

_"**Okay."** Inner Ino cheered. **"That a girl."**_

The platinum blond waited awhile before following after them. By the time she got near Ichiraku's they were already seated inside. She wanted to stay close enough to hear, but not too close because she didn't wish to be seen. The whole thing was pretty ridiculous. This was not the way she had planned to spend her free time. She could think of better things to do than follow these two around. Luckily with the volume of Naruto's voice, she could hear everything clearly. He sounded happy to her. She wished that she was the one sitting besides him right now. She wanted to be the reason why he was happy.

_"Well of course he's happy. He's right where he wants to be, with her."_

"Oi, Ino." Chouji noticed her.

"What the... Chouji?" She ran over to him and placed her hand over his mouth. "Chouji be quiet before they hear you."

"Huh?" The brown haired teen wondered.

"Ino, what are you up to now?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino pouted at his insult. Why did she always have to be up to something? Why was she the number one suspect. Couldn't a girl spy on someone in peace?

"Will you two just be quiet before they hear you."

Shikamaru was about to ask her who she was talking about, only when he heard Naruto and Sakura's voices his questions were answered.

"Oh." He nodded.

"Whatever." Chouji spoke. "We're going to get some barbecue. Do you want to come?"

"Not right now, no thank you. I'm kind of busy."

"Alright if you say so."

Shikamaru looked at his friend for a moment. Her behavior was actually concerning him.

"Don't you trust him?"

"Huh?" Ino wondered.

"Well, you're spying on Naruto eating lunch with Sakura. You seem like you don't trust him. He is your boyfriend isn't he?"

Ino became silent and avoided Shikamaru's gaze.

"Of course I trust him. It's forehead that I don't trust. She is totally jealous of our relationship. I'm just protecting what's mine."

Shikamaru only shrugged his shoulders then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Whatever." He sighed. "Come on Chouji, good luck with spying on Naruto, Ino, see ya."

"Bye." She waved.

She turned back around to see that Naruto and Sakura were leaving Ichiraku's. She hid behind a wall of a building, so she wouldn't be noticed.

"That was great Sakura-chan, thanks a lot."

"No problem Naruto. Hey, come with me there's something that I want to buy." She then grabbed him by the arm.

"Uh, sure Sakura-chan."

Ino didn't know what to do about this. Naruto was now going to go shopping with her. To Ino there was nothing like shopping that brought to people closer together. Naruto had never once gone shopping with her, and he was supposed to be her "boyfriend".

"I don't believe this."

Ino watched as Naruto and Sakura walked from store to store. They looked very happy as they talked and laughed together. She also noticed that Sakura had yet to let his arm go. Anyone who saw them now would swear that they were a couple

_"Does she have to touch him like that?"_

"So Naruto how are you and Ino doing?" Sakura soon asked.

"Huh, oh, we're great."

"That's good. I'm glad that everything is working out for you two."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "Thanks Sakura-chan."

The two friends went into one last store together. Sakura had finally found the item that she had wanted and purchased it. Naruto noticed a necklace with a blue butterfly on it. It was identical to the hair clip that he had seen Ino wearing. The color blue had even reminded of him. Her eyes were almost the exact same shade of blue.

_"Ino-chan." _He thought.

He stared at the necklace the entire time. It was like he could see nothing else but the piece of jewelry in front of him.

"Naruto are you going to buy something?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah."

The cashier then turned his attention to what Naruto was staring it. He smiled widely, today was his lucky day he was about to make another sale.

"So do you see something that you like young man?"

"Yeah, can I have this." He pointed to the item.

"Yes, it is certainly a beauty isn't it. I'm sure that your girlfriend over there will love it."

As soon as he said this Naruto and Sakura turned to face each other. She shook her head no.

"Oh, no we're not together. He already has a girlfriend."

"Yeah, we're just friends." Naruto said.

"My apologies. I just assumed that...oh well never mind let's just wrap this up in a gift bag for you. What color would you like?"

Naruto's eyes immediately landed on to the purple colored bad. It was perfect for the platinum blond.

"I'll take the purple one."

Once the gift was placed in a box, and then put into the bag. The two teens left the shop together. They were now heading towards Naruto's apartment. Ino only hoped that Sakura wasn't going to go inside with him. Her mind starting to wander on to the things that could take place behind closed doors. Ino shook her head to get rid of those impure thoughts. The only thing Ino could really think about was confronting him. She was going to give the whisker faced boy a piece of her mind. She wanted him to know how upset she was. Naruto stopped at his apartment, he then waved to his friend.

"I'll see you later Sakura-chan. It was fun training with you this morning."

"Yeah it was. I'll see you soon Naruto, be good." She smiled.

"Right." He nodded. Without waiting another moment he entered his apartment. He placed the purple bag on the table. Ino was going to love this gift that he got for her. He saw it as a way of saying thank you for buying all those groceries for him the other day."

_"Ino-chan will love this."_ He thought cheerfully.

Meanwhile outside the platinum blond waited until Sakura was no longer in sight, before walking up the stairs to Naruto's apartment. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. She took a moment to gather up her thoughts before knocking on his door.

"Just a minute." Naruto's voice was heard.

Naruto came to the door wearing nothing except for his pants. Ino found herself turning bright red. She did however always wanted to see him without a shirt. And she had to admit it was a very impressive sight. Naruto was pulling a very dirty trick. How dare he answer the door shirtless like this, was he purposely trying to confuse her. Get her brain so confused that she would forget why she was angry.

"Um..." Was all she could say.

"Oh, hey Ino-chan. I was just about to grab a shower. Come on in okay."

She nodded then entered his apartment. Naruto assumed that Ino had come over for a reason, so he put his shirt back on. That shower would just have to wait a little while longer.

_"_Ino-chan thanks a lot for buying all those groceries. You didn't have to."

"That's alright Naruto, I wanted to do it."

Silence filled the entire room. Naruto wondered what he should say to break the silence.

"So what's up? Is everything alright?"

Ino stood there with her eyes focused on the floor. This behavior concerned the spiky headed blond. It made him believe that something was wrong. He put his hand to her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything is not okay." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"It's not okay." She raised her voice. The platinum blond looked up into his eyes. Naruto blinked in confusion. What was wrong with Ino? She didn't sound like herself right now.

"Um Ino what happened?"

"What happened?" She repeated. "Naruto, where were you this whole day. Do you want to explain to me why I haven't seen you at all."

"Oh, I was training, then I went for some ramen. And then..."

"Really." She cut him off. "And did you do all of these things alone, or were you with someone?"

He blinked.

"I was with Sakura-chan."

"So you were with forehead all day. Naruto, I was looking for you and you were with forehead the whole time!" She shouted.

"Ino why were you looking for me. I didn't know that you needed me for something."

She turned around with her back facing him. He waited for her to respond.

"Of course you wouldn't know if I had needed you. You were to busy spending your day with... with her."

Ino didn't want to admit to Naruto the truth. The truth being that she was jealous. She hated seeing him with Sakura today, even if it had all been on a friendly level. She just didn't want to have to watch any of it.

"Ino-chan I'm sorry. What did you need me for anyway, maybe I can still help."

"It doesn't matter anymore_."_

"Tell me." He then turned her around so that they were facing each other. He wanted to have her full, undivided attention.

"My mom gave me the day off today. I had some free time on my hands. I wanted to spend that time with you Naruto. I wanted to hang out, maybe grab a bowl of ramen together. I just wanted to spend my day with you." She admitted.

Naruto held his mouth open for a moment. He wished that he had the right words to say to her, but he felt that anything he said would only upset her more. He had never been in this situation before, so he really didn't know how to handle it.

"Ino..."

"No." She shook her head. "You spent your day with her. You did everything with her. You did all of the things that we could have done together, and you did them all with her. Naruto you even went with her shopping. Naruto, did you have fun?"

"I..."

"Of course you did, you were with forehead the whole time. I don't know I just assumed that maybe you would want to spend your time with me first."

She didn't know why she was getting so bent out of shape. It wasn't as if Naruto was at fault. All he did was spend a little time with a friend. Everything that the two of them did was all on a friendly level. There was no romance involved, or anything even close to that level.

"Ino-chan calm down."

"No I will not calm down. Am I wrong for wanting to spend time with you?"

"No you're not."

"Did you know that there was no one else that I wanted to be around today? You were my first choice, my only choice."

Naruto could see that the platinum blond was hurting right now. He wasn't sure but he felt like he had caused this. Didn't she know that he had been thinking of her too? She had indeed crossed his mind today. In fact she was almost always on his mind these days. He wouldn't have minded spending his entire day with her either. One thing he knew for sure was that he had done nothing wrong.

"Ino-chan I didn't do anything wrong. We can always spend time together, you know that."

"Never mind, you don't understand at all."

She tried to leave, only Naruto grabbed her by the arm. She couldn't just leave things like this. It felt wrong, it felt unresolved.

"Don't leave, make me understand."

"I..."

"Go on explain it to me Ino-chan."

"Naruto it just hurt alright. Seeing you with her, it really hurt. I hated watching how happy you were with her. I wished that I was the reason that there was a smile on your face."

The platinum blond continued on with what she had to say. Naruto could only stare at her. The words literally starting to go in one ear and out the other. He had lost her somewhere between how much she hated watching him with Sakura, and how much she really wanted to spend time with him. He had to do something and he had to do it fast.

"Ino-chan?"

"No! I'm not finished."

"Ino?"

"Naruto let me finish."

He placed his hand on to her cheek. This caused her to look up at him.

"Naruto?"

"Ino-chan." He leaned down lowering his lips to hers. He smiled before whispering to her. "Ino-chan be quiet okay." The spiky headed blond then pressed his lips to hers. The shorter blue eyed girl opened her eyes in surprise_._ It took her a moment. But then it slowly started to sink in. This was real, this was not a dream or an illusion. This was really happening. Naruto was actually kissing her. It started off soft and slow. She did her best to resist the kiss. Only she eventually gave in and began to kiss him back.

_"Holy shit, he's kissing me. I'm kissing him back."  
_

Neither one of the blonds had expected the kiss to feel this good. Naruto placed his arms around her waist, only pulling her closer to him. She put her arms around his shoulders, only deepening their kiss further. Their tongues met for a split second before it came to a sudden end.

_"I can't believe that we're doing this." Ino thought. "But it feels to good to stop. Yeah, I almost don't want it to end."  
_

_"This is incredible, wow." Naruto thought. "Maybe I should have kissed her a lot sooner."_

The blond male ended up pushing the shorter girl up against the wall. She moaned into his mouth, while running her fingers through his spiky locks. Their kiss only intensifying with each passing moment. Ino was sure that she had never ever been kissed like this before. Sure, she only had one kiss in her life and that happened by accident. This was by far the most passionate kiss she had ever had. Not even what she read in the romance novels could compare to what she was feeling right now. All of their emotions were rushing to the surface now. It was obvious that the two blonds had wanted this kiss for a very long time.

After a few more minutes of their passionate lip lock. They both broke away at the same time. The two blond shinobi stood there staring at each other. They were both slightly out of breath from their intense kiss. Ino closed her eyes. She could feel her heart literally pounding through her chest. She hadn't expected Naruto to kiss her like that. And she certainly didn't expect that she would kiss him back, with equal the amount of emotion and passion. In words it felt amazing, wonderful, it sent shivers down her spine.

"Ino?" He whispered her name.

"Naruto this is so fucked up." Was the first thing that came to her mind.

"You're telling me." He agreed.

Ino walked over to his bed, she took a seat. She placed her hands into her lap, and avoided his gaze.

"When the hell did it get like this? When did things get real? Naruto this was not supposed to happen."

The taller blond sat down next to her. He sighed before reaching over for her hand. He took her hand and squeezed it within his.

"Ino, did you want to kiss me? Did you really feel what I felt."

Naruto had been feeling so many different emotions at this time. He really enjoyed that kiss with the beautiful blond kunoichi. He wanted to do it again. He found himself with the urge to grab her right now, and kiss her the same way. Naruto found himself wanting to make their faux relationship real. He wanted to have what Lee and Tenten had. Ino turned her attention elsewhere. What could she say to him right now?

Should she admit these growing feelings to him. Feelings that she had been trying to ignore this whole time. But she couldn't fight them off any longer could she? Their kiss was proof of that. Could she actually breathe light into the current situation.

"Naruto I did want that kiss." She admitted. "It felt,... I can't even begin to describe to you how it felt. I've never actually felt anything like that before."

"Yeah." He understood.

He had never felt anything like that before either. The two of them had decided that in no way shape or form would they get involved for real. This whole thing was supposed to be for public appearance only. Ino didn't know when she started to feel real feelings for Naruto. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment. The only thing she knew was that she felt them. She felt them and they were not going away. In honest it was starting to scare her.

"Ino?" He called out to her.

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to do now?"

The platinum blond shook her head. She didn't even have any answers for herself. So how could she possibly begin to give him any. She didn't know what to say to him. She had to think of something though. Ino knew that he wanted an answer. She took a breath before turning her attention towards her whisker faced friend.

"I don't know Naruto. I honestly don't know."

**A/N: Best chapter ever Lol. I guess by now you figured out that we will be at the present time next chapter. I hope to hell that you all enjoyed. Oh and I know this is random but does anyone else find it funny that Ino and Deidara from Akatsuki look alike. Okay maybe not lol. Anyway all I can say is Review, review, review. I hope that you all are excited for the next chapter as much as I am, I will update again sometime after my birthday. Stay tuned for more.**


	14. Oh, so now what?

**A/n: Thanks for waiting guys here's the next chapter. And a special thanks to beautifulgeek11 for being my beta. You're awesome.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Naruto had yet to let her hand go. The two teens sat in a deathly silence. Neither one of them knowing what to say. All Ino could think about was the kiss that happened a few minutes ago. She had no idea what Naruto was thinking. He was most likely thinking about the same thing. Ino stood up from the bed. She then walked over to the window. Naruto could only stare after her.

"You just kissed me. Oh my god, what are we going to do?"

Naruto realized that the aftermath of the kiss was starting to get to her. He wouldn't be surprised if she was close to having a meltdown. The platinum blonde seemed to be close to going over the edge. He watched as she started pacing back and forth.

"Ino-chan, you um kissed me back."

At this, Ino stopped pacing. She had not forgotten that she had indeed kissed him back. The kiss had caught her by surprise. However, she would be lying if she said the kiss hadn't felt wonderful to her.

"That was my first kiss." Naruto admitted.

She turned back around to face him. Naruto was not looking at her. He seemed completely focused on his hands for some reason.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Hey do you want to know something? You weren't bad for not having kissed someone before. That was the best kiss I ever had." She told him.

When she said this, he looked up to meet Ino's gaze.

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah and I've only been kissed once in my life. Who would have thought huh? Uzumaki Naruto shares his first kiss with Yamanaka Ino."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "I wouldn't have ever thought so. I always wanted my first kiss to be..."

"With Sakura I know."

"I'm Sorry."

"It's okay. You were only being honest Naruto. I think that I should go."

She started for the door. Naruto knew that he couldn't let her leave this way. They had things that they needed to discuss. Things like their relationship, and where was it headed now. What we're they going to do?

"Ino-chan please don't go, at least not yet, anyway."

"Give me a reason why I should stay."

"We have to talk. We just kissed. I think that this is something worth talking about."

"That kiss..." She started. "What can I say it was an amazing kiss. I don't know what else to say."

"Now what Ino-chan. What are we going to do now? We can't pretend that it didn't happen."

Ino knew that her spiky headed friend had a point. And as much as she wanted to disappear right now. She knew that she couldn't. They really did have to talk. They had done something that they weren't supposed to do. The two blonde's had shared a kiss. It wasn't just any kiss either. It was the sort of kiss that a real couple would share. The only problem was that they were not a real couple. They were just friends.

"Hai, you're right. We can't pretend that we didn't kiss. But do you want my honest opinion?"

"Of course I want your honesty, Ino-chan."

The platinum blonde folded her arms across her chest. She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned up against the wall. After a few moments of silence she opened her eyes. The blue eyed girl stared directly at him.

"I don't think that you meant to kiss me like that. You probably got caught up in the moment or something."

"Huh?" He questioned.

"Well, weren't you just trying to get me to shut up. What better way than to kiss me, right?"

"What?" He wondered.

"Tell me this Naruto. Who were you really thinking about when you kissed me?"

Naruto didn't quite understand what she was getting at. It sounded like she was trying to say that he wasn't really thinking about her when they kissed.

"Ino what the hell kind of question is that?"

"Well, whom were you thinking about? I think that you were probably wishing that I was Sakura or something."

Naruto held his mouth open in slight disbelief. Was Ino being serious? Of course, he hadn't been thinking of Sakura during their kiss. The only person he was thinking about at the time was her. Sakura hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Ino-chan I..."

"It's alright." She whispered. "I understand. You don't have to explain anything to me I get it."

It pained Ino to have to say those words. Nevertheless, whom was she fooling. Even if she did admit her her feelings to Naruto, what good would it do her. He had to still be hung up on Sakura. Those kinds of feelings didn't just die overnight.

"I'm sorry for the kiss." She apologized. "It probably shouldn't have happened anyway."

"_She wishes that it never happened."_

"I'm going to go now Naruto. I'll see you around. Maybe we can both try to put this behind us."

She opened the door then turned her attention back on to him. She gave him a sad smile.

"Bye."

"Um wait."

It was too late the platinum blonde was gone from sight.

"I didn't get the chance to give you your gift."

He sighed sadly then laid down on his bed. Ino was gone and for some reason he didn't have the strength to get up and go after her. Ino stood there for a minute gazing up into the sky.

"I know that the kiss meant something to me. But I was right in not getting my hopes up. He still wants forehead, we both know it."

She walked away from his apartment, not looking back once. All she thought about was the kiss. Ino could still feel his lips there. She had never dreamed a kiss could feel so wonderful. She hadn't even imagined that Naruto would end up being the one that she would kiss. It had all been so very unexpected.

"It doesn't matter anymore." She decided.

* * *

Back in his apartment, Naruto sat staring at the gift he had purchased for the platinum blonde. He had really wanted to give it to her. He wanted to see the look on her face when he presented her with the gift. The blond male was sure that she was going to love it. The only thing on Naruto's mind was the blue eyed girl. He thought about everything they had been through over the last few months. Him telling her about the Kyuubi, fighting alongside her against that stranger, spending so much time together that it resulted in them growing closer each day.

"How can I fix this if Ino thinks that I didn't want to kiss her. She thinks that I don't want to make this thing real, but I do."

He twirled the butterfly necklace in his fingers. The color blue reminded him of her eyes. It was pretty just like her. Everything seemed to lead to her. She was here with him right now even if it wasn't in person. He felt her presence. It was like she was haunting in or something.

"Ino." He whispered. "Oh well there's nothing I can do about this now. I better go get that shower."

* * *

Ino entered the house to see her mother sitting on the couch. Mrs. Yamanaka looked up to see her daughter. She gave her a smile.

"Hello dear, how was your day? Did you have fun?"

"Um sure, mom." She lied.

Mrs. Yamanaka heard the tone in her daughter's voice. There was clearly something wrong.

"Okay tell me what's wrong."

"Wrong." She repeated. "Why do you think that there's something wrong?"

Ino's mother gave her a knowing look. She motioned for Ino to have a seat besides her. Ino did as her mother asked.

"So what's wrong, Ino honey?"

The blue eyed girl sighed. She knew that her mother would want to know what she was feeling right this moment.

"Mom, I have a problem."

"Yes, I can see that. I'm your mother so tell me what's wrong."

"Well, I'm a girl that had feelings for a guy, that has feelings for someone else."

Ino could think of no other way to sum up the story. That was pretty much it in a nutshell. She had feelings for a boy that had feelings for someone else.

"You're talking about your feelings for Naruto-kun. Did you finally come to terms with them?"

"Yeah." Ino nodded. "I mean I guess that I just wasn't aware of them at first. Or maybe I knew for a while and I just didn't want to admit them. I was scared, I supposed."

The older blond nodded in understanding.

"It was the same for your father and I. It took us both awhile to come to terms with our feelings for one another."

"Maybe so mom, but this is different. Our situations are not the same. Naruto still likes Sakura. He's always liked her. You didn't have another girl in the picture when you were trying to be with daddy. I can't even begin to compete with that. I know when something is a losing battle."

Ino's mother frowned at her daughter's pessimism. Where did all the self confidence go? Did it somehow get thrown out of the window? She hated to see her daughter sound so down. As a mother, it truly hurt her.

"Ino-chan, I didn't raise you to have such low self esteem. Don't speak of yourself like your second best."

"In this situation mom I am. If I told how I really feel. I don't think that it would matter. It wouldn't matter because I'm not her."

"You are not second best dear. I had a feeling from the start that you two would be good for each other. In many ways you and Naruto-kun remind me of your father and I when we were younger. Well, Inoichi might have been a bit more nervous than Naruto."

The blue eyed girl raised an eyebrow in a suspicious manner. She couldn't picture her father being nervous about anything. It was one of those things that she could just never imagine happening.

"Daddy was nervous? I doubt that."

Mrs. Yamanaka chuckled.

_"_It was a ling time ago. Ino-chan, why don't you give it a chance. You may find that he feels the exact same way that you do."

Ino shook her head indicating a "no". She wanted to be able to trust in her mother's words. Yet, she found that she couldn't.

"I can't. I...I don't want to get hurt." She admitted.

"Ino did you ever think that perhaps he doesn't want to get hurt either. One of you has to make the first move; otherwise, no one will be happy. You'll be stuck wondering what if for the rest of your lives."

She became silent once more. She began debating on whether or not she should tell her mother about what happened today. Ino still couldn't get that kiss out of her mind.

"What's wrong dear?"

"He and I...we um...we kissed."

"Really? Well, now doesn't that show you that his feelings are mutual. I'm sure that Naruto-kun wouldn't just kiss you for no good reason. How did you feel about the kiss?"

The younger blonde stood up from the couch. There was a somewhat far off look in her eyes. She had her back turned to her mother for a moment. She took a second to gather her thoughts. Ino then turned back around to look at her mother.

"Mom, it was the most amazing kiss that I've ever had. I can't even start to describe in words how it made me feel. I wanted that kiss to last forever. I wouldn't have minded to feel his lips against mine again. I..."

"I understand Ino-chan. You must really like him a lot."

"I do." Ino nodded. "Naruto is one of a kind. He's fun, sweet, and once you get to know him it's very hard to forget about him. He's special." She finished.

"Then you need to tell him just how you feel."

"No." Ino shook her head. "I told you mom I don't stand a chance against his feelings for Sakura. It doesn't matter that we kissed when his heart belongs to someone else. Mom thanks for the talk but I kind of want to be alone now."

"Alright dear I understand."

The platinum blonde walked up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and sat down on her bed. The conversation with her mother had been an interesting one. Her mother seemed to believe that Naruto had feelings for her as well. She only saw herself as his friend. Ino didn't think that Naruto liked her in that way. Sure, they had been through a lot together. However, in her heart, she felt that Naruto still had feelings for Sakura and there was no way all of those feelings he had for the pink haired teen could be gone.

"I don't want to get hurt. I don't want to be Naruto's second choice. It's better that I don't tell him how I really feel."

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto decided that he would go back out to Ichiraku's. He was feeling a little on the depressed side. And there was nothing better than a bowl of ramen. It was his answer to any problem.

"Hey Naruto where are you headed?" He soon heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, hi Iruka-sensei. I was just going to get some ramen at Ichiraku's."

"Okay, that sounds good. I'll join you if you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind."

The sensei and his former student sat down together. Iruka could see that there was something on Naruto's mind. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

"Naruto what's wrong?"

"Wrong." He whispered. "What makes you think that there's something wrong."

"Because you barely touched your ramen. Therefore, I know that there's something wrong."

"Iruka is right, Naruto, you seem down." Teuchi noticed.

Naruto swirled his chopsticks around in his food. He sighed to himself. Iruka knew him very well. Of course, he would be able to tell that something was wrong.

"Do you remember that talk we had awhile back, Iruka-sensei?"

"Sure, I do."

"Well things just got a little more complicated. We um, we kissed."

Iruka smiled for his former student.

_"_Is that such a bad thing. You seem depressed almost. Was it a bad kiss?"

"No, not at all." Naruto spoke. "It was great and I enjoyed it. I just don't know what to do now. I don't think she wants a relationship with me. I don't think she returns my feelings."

"Naruto, you won't know unless you ask her. By sitting here like this you'll never know for sure."

"She thinks that I didn't want to kiss her. She thinks that I still have feelings for someone else."

Iruka nodded in understanding. Naruto finally decided to eat some of his ramen. It took a moment but Teuchi had remembered something.

"Oh yes, Naruto Ino-chan came in here looking for you earlier. I forgot to mention that."

"Thank you Teuchi-san. I, um caught up with her a little while ago."

Iruka began to see that Ino was the girl that Naruto was talking about.

"Naruto, is it Ino? Is she the one that you have feelings for?"

Naruto only nodded.

"Yeah I guess I didn't want to really acknowledge my feelings for her. Or maybe I always had them and just never realized it. But now I know for sure that I do have them."

"Hm. And she still thinks that you have feelings for someone else. Well, Naruto how do you feel about this other girl? Do you still have feelings for her? I'm afraid that you're the only one that can answer those questions."

Naruto knew that Iruka was right.

"Iruka-sensei, the only thing I know for sure is that I like Ino-chan. There's more to her than I first thought. She's so much more than just a pretty girl. She always speaks her mind, she has so much determination, and she's hard to forget."

The brown haired male finished up his ramen and then turned to the blond.

"It looks like you have your answer. You should find her so that you can tell her how you feel."

"No, Iruka-sensei, I can't. I already told you that I don't think she returns my feelings."

"And I told you that you wont know until you ask her."

"After we kissed Iruka-sensei she said that it shouldn't have happened. So, she must not like me the same way. I can't tell her. I... I don't want to get rejected not again, not like before with Sakura-chan."

It all began to make perfect sense to Iruka. Naruto was reluctant because he didn't want to get rejected. And he seemed down right afraid to ask Ino how she really felt. This wasn't the Naruto that he knew at all.

"Naruto, you can't let that minor detail stop you. You've never let anything stop you before."

"Iruka-sensei, I'm just not sure. I don't want to go screwing things up further. I don't know what to do."

"So, you're just going to sit back and wonder "what if" for the rest of your life. That's not who you are, Naruto"

Before Naruto could say anything, someone's voice was heard.

"Iruka-kun I thought that I heard your voice."

Naruto and Iruka looked up to see Shizune standing there.

"Oh hello, Shizune-chan."

"Hey you, oh hello, Naruto-kun."

"Hey Shizune-nee-chan. Are you looking for Iruka because you two have a date planned or something?"

Both adults blushed slightly turning their attention elsewhere. Naruto's question was already answered.

"Well..." Shizune started.

"If you must know Naruto, the answer is yes."

Naruto nodded giving his former teacher the thumbs up.

"Way to go Shizune-nee-chan; Iruka-sensei, I knew it. I should go I don't want to ruin your date. I'll see you both later, enjoy."

Naruto waved goodbye to Iruka and Shizune then left Ichiraku's. For the most part, he wandered around the village with no particular goal. He thought more about his conversation with Iruka. He wanted to try and make things work with Ino. But what was the point if she wasn't even going to bother listening to him. Naruto felt that this was another losing battle. Before he realized it he was standing outside of Ino's house. He was trying to decide whether or not he should go in. He felt that their earlier conversation had been cut short. And there was still the gift that he had wanted to give to her. He stared up at the house not realizing that Ino could see him from her window.

"Naruto? What is he doing out there?"

Naruto stood there for a few minutes longer before heading back to his own apartment. A part of Ino wanted to call out to him. Nonetheless, she decided not to.

"Naruto." She whispered to no one.

That night in bed the platinum blonde laid awake in bed. She found it very hard to get to sleep. She turned over and tried to sleep in different positions only nothing seemed to be working.

"Damn, what the hell is wrong with me?"

Ino knew where her mind was. Her mind was with Naruto. He seemed to be the only thing that she could really think about.

"He's always on my mind no matter what I do. Did I maybe make a mistake today? Should I have just told him the rest of what I was feeling."

Ino was all mixed up. She wasn't sure about what she should have done. If she had told him one of two things would have happened. He would have either returned her feelings, or he would have rejected her in a gentle manner. She doubted if he would have rejected her harshly. Also maybe on some level Ino wasn't quite ready to admit her feelings to him. She knew that they existed. But she simply couldn't bring herself to tell him yet maybe at this rate she would never be ready. She feared the rejection.

"Why would he want me when he could have Sakura? That was one of the reasons why we started this whole thing." She sighed. "I just never expected to fall for him. What am I going to do?" Ino whispered.

* * *

_**(Ino's Dream)**_

_The young woman felt a gentle breeze fill her room. She was pretty sure that she had closed that window. She opened her eyes when she felt a warm hand on her cheek._

_"Hm,?" She looked up to see Naruto standing there._

_She instantly sat up. She was more than surprised to see him standing there._

_"Naruto, what are you doing here?"_

_"Hi Ino-chan, I know that it's late but I had to stop by. We need to talk."_

_Ino motioned for him to sit down besides her. She moved over and he sat down across from her._

_"So what's up?"_

_"We should have talked more earlier, Ino-chan. You left so fast we didn't really get the chance to."_

_Ino only nodded. She knew that Naruto wasn't about to let this conversation go so easily._

_"Why did you run away from me, Ino-chan?"  
_

_"I wasn't really running away from you, Naruto."  
_

_"But you did. We kissed and you left me. Why did you leave like that?"_

_Ino sat with her arms around her knees. She avoided the second blonde's gaze._

_"Naruto you don't understand. I was overwhelmed. I wasn't expecting for us to kiss."_

_"Do you think that I was a mistake, Ino? Is that why you ran away from me, from us?"  
_

_"What? No, I...um I don't know. It felt too right to be called a mistake. But Naruto I..."_

_She was cut off when the whisker faced boy pulled her into another kiss. The platinum blonde did nothing to stop him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him ever so closer to her. Moments later, he ended their kiss by pulling away._

_"How did that feel? It felt too good to stop right, Ino-chan? Do you still want to run away from us?"_

_"I'm scared." Ino whispered._

_"You're scared." He repeated. "Scared of what of me, the Kyuubi, what?"  
_

_"No I'm not scared of you or the Kyuubi. I'm scared to give you all of my heart. I'm scared that you would choose Sakura over me in a heartbeat. I don't want to be hurt Naruto." She shouted at him._

_Naruto looked taken aback. He saw the tears in Ino's eyes. All of her emotions were taking over and rushing to the surface. He leaned over and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace._

_"I'm not going to hurt you."  
_

_"You can't promise me that."_

_He pulled away from her and wiped the tears out of her eyes._

_"I can't make you see reason, can I? I suppose that you're just going to have to come to terms with it yourself."  
_

_Ino watched ad Naruto walked away from her._

_"Naruto, wait?"_

_"I better go Ino-chan."  
_

_"But..."_

_"I'm going to leave. That's what you want isn't it? You want me to leave. You're too afraid of us, aren't you? Bye."_

_"No, Naruto!"_

* * *

The blond girl awoke from her dream. She sat up in bed all of her thoughts on her dream. She sighed to herself.

"That dream felt so real. It felt like he was actually here."

She put her finger to her lips while her mind was still on her dream. A part of her wanted that dream to be real. She wished that Naruto was here with her right now. She wanted to feel his lips pressed against hers again. Was that really so much to hope for? Was she simply living in some type of fantasy world? Naruto would never be hers if he still wanted to be with Sakura. Ino knew that this was a losing battle. She found that she didn't have the will to fight.

"I can't tell him not, when I don't stand a chance." She whispered.

The platinum blonde fell back into her bed and closed her eyes. She had no idea that her blond counterpart was having his own problems sleeping as well.

Naruto gazed into the ceiling. The only things on his mind was his conversation with Iruka and a certain blue eyed girl. His mind seemed to race to her. He found himself wondering if she was alright? Was there a chance that she might be thinking of him too. Naruto knew that Iruka had made some valid points during their discussion. He would have to prove to Ino that his feelings were real. And that they did indeed exist. But there was another problem, Naruto did not wish to be hurt either. And by the way Ino sounded earlier she regretted their kiss.

"She kissed me back. If she didn't want to she wouldn't have kissed me back. Unless she felt sorry for me."

Naruto didn't know what to think anymore. Sure, there was the possibility that her feelings were mutual. Then again there was the possibility that she didn't feel the same way that he did. Yet, that kiss had felt so right, how could she not feel the same things that he did? There was so much on his mind he didn't know where to begin. He closed his eyes and finally started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

_**(Naruto's Dream)**_

_He found himself in the special flower field that Ino liked to go to. He saw the platinum blond standing there with her back turned to him._

_"Hey Ino-chan?"_

_She didn't respond to him instead she remained standing with her back facing him._

_"Um...what's wrong?"_

_She finally turned around. Her aqua colored orbs staring into his cerulean blue pools._

_"Naruto." She whispered._

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Do you want me?" She asked honestly._

_He stood there for a moment, just watching her. The shorter blonde walked over to him. She placed her arms around his shoulders._

_"I asked you a question, Naruto-kun. Do you want me?"_

_He didn't answer her right away. He looked down a her putting his arms around her waist._

_"Yes." He answered. "Yes, I want you."_

_She then pulled away from him._

_"If you want me then you have to fight for me. You have to prove to me that I'm really the one that you want."  
_

_Naruto blinked._

_"So that's what you want Ino-chan, you want me to fight for you."  
_

_"Yeah." She nodded. "I want you to fight for us. We'll never be together if you don't."  
_

_"I have to know what I'm fighting for Ino. Why should I be the only one fighting for us? You're the one who regrets our kiss."_

_Ino flinched at his words._

_"Didn't you ever think that maybe I said that for a reason?"_

_"Huh? What reason?"_

_"If you can't figure it out then, I'm not going to bother with telling you."_

_The blue eyed girl turned around and began walking away._

_"Hey wait."  
_

_"I'm going to go."  
_

_"But I don't want you to go."  
_

_"I'm sorry." She whispered._

_"Ino-chan I..."_

And with that the young man awoke from his latest dream. Naruto sat up in bed. His hair falling into his eyes. A sigh escaped the blond haired boy. He wondered if maybe there was some truth to that dream.

"What's her reason?" He whispered.

* * *

A few days later a certain whisker faced youth was sitting up on the Hokage monument. He liked to come up here to think and right now he needed the time alone. He had a lot on his mind. A gentle breeze filled the air. It was yet another beautiful day.

"It's really nice today."

The weather was perfect but other aspects in life weren't. He hadn't seen Ino at all in the lase few days. He found that he missed her. It was as if she had vanished from the village, either that or she was completely avoiding him because of their kiss. He hated it if that was what she was doing.

"Ino." He thought.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He allowed himself to enjoy the cool, gentle breeze blowing through his blond locks. Just as he was getting lost in his own thoughts, he heard his name.

"Naruto?"


	15. I guess its true, I do love him

**A/n: Just wanted to say a quick thank you to all you lovely reviewers. Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter. I'm sorry that this is so late, I was fresh off of vacation and didn't feel like doing anything. Anyway please enjoy and stick with me people. No matter what this will have a happy ending. Thanks to Smithjohn2020 for checking over the mistakes. And a special thanks to all the musical influences that went into writing this chapter, Skillet, Paramore, a lot of Jrock, Evanescence, and a whole lot more.**

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own it. If I did Naruto would so totally be with Ino.**

* * *

"Naruto?"

He turned around to see none other than the pink-haired medic-nin. He wasn't really expecting to see her here. He didn't want anyone to show up at this moment. Naruto found that he had enjoyed the peace. He wanted this time to sit and reflect. He couldn't be rude now, however, so he managed to give her a warm smile.

"Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Hi, Naruto."

There was a moment of silence. Another gentle breeze passed by. Naruto stared up into her jade green pools. There was no reason why she couldn't stay. Naruto decided that his peaceful reverie was over.

"Why don't you sit?" He suggested.

"Sure." She nodded. "I'm actually glad that I found you. I was looking for you."

The green-eyed teen sat down besides her blond-haired friend.

"Really, well now you've found me. What's up?" Naruto wondered.

"That can wait. What's wrong? Why are you sitting up here like this?"

"I'm just thinking." He replied.

Sakura was silent for a moment. She could see that there was something clearly bothering him. She wanted to find out what was troubling him. He was her friend, so naturally she would be concerned. It was up to her to get to the bottom of things.

"Are you sure that's all? What's really on your mind?"

Naruto sighed. He wasn't really sure how he felt about telling Sakura the truth. Did he truly feel comfortable to tell her what was going on? This was the sort of thing he would much rather discuss with someone else.

"It's nothing."

She raised an eyebrow to him in disbelief. He was flat out lying to her. Had they grown so far apart that he felt that he couldn't talk to her? She sincerely hoped that this wasn't the case.

"Luckily for you I'm not Ino, so I can't invade your mind. So are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or will I be forced to use extreme measures?"

* * *

"Ino-chan, wake up!" Her mother said as she shook her sleeping daughter.

"No," she shook her head. "Five more minutes."

"Come on, it's a beautiful day. Don't you want to go out and enjoy it?"

"No, not really." She mumbled.

The platinum blonde had only wanted to stay in bed and sleep. At this moment she could think of nothing better. This was the absolute definition of heaven.

"Come on dear, wake up." Her mother spoke as she pulled the covers off of her. Ino reluctantly sat up after the feeling of the warm covers left her.

"Mom!" She whined.

"You shouldn't waste your whole day in bed like this. It isn't like you Ino-chan. I want you to go out and do something."

Deciding that her mother would not leave her alone about this, she knew that she had to get up.

"Alright, alright. Fine."

The blue-eyed girl got out of the comfort of her bed and immediately headed for the shower to wash and get dressed. All the while she wondered just what was she supposed to do. The only person she had really wanted to see was Naruto. She hadn't seen him at all in the past few days. And although she did miss him, she had no idea what to say to him, where to start or how to begin. She wondered if he even wanted to see her. It would most likely feel very awkward between them. A lot of things felt awkward after they had shared their kiss.

"Okay mom, you're getting what you want. I'm leaving."

"Alright, goodbye Ino-chan. Try to have fun, okay?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

Ino walked the streets of Konoha with no goal in particular. She spotted some couples holding hands while they walked together. Oddly enough, it reminded the blonde teen of her and Naruto. Sure their holding hands had been for show, but it had always felt nice. Holding hands with him like that made her think of what a relationship would be like. Yes, she had been on a few dates in her 17 years of life. But a real boyfriend was something that she had never had. She wanted someone to call her own. Naruto was the definition of a perfect boyfriend. The way that he cared about people was proof enough that he would be a great boyfriend. He had treated her with nothing but respect during their _"relationship."_ She knew that having him as a boyfriend would bring nothing but happiness and fun times. As she was passing by Ichiraku's she immediately thought of her whisker-faced friend.

"Naruto?" She whispered.

* * *

**(Back at the Hokage Monument)**

Naruto turned to look at his pink-haired friend. He knew that she would be able to see through his lie. Naruto gave her another smile.

"I guess that I can't lie to you, huh, Sakura-chan?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "So spill it."

Naruto nodded. "I sort of have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah I can see that. Naruto, what's going on?"

"It's such a long story... Why don't you tell me why you were looking for me? Maybe I can help out."

Sakura thought about what had happened before she came up to the Hokage monument.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Sakura was sitting with Tenten and Hinata. The friends decided to meet up for the day. Only Sakura found that she was unable to tear herself away from the subject of Naruto and Ino. It seemed that their relationship was her favorite thing to talk about these days. Sadly, it seemed that nothing else really mattered._

"_And you know what else...?" Sakura began._

_Tenten sighed heavily. She was sick of hearing Sakura complain about Konoha's favorite blond couple._

"_Sakura, please cut it out. We don't care what your theories are."_

"_But..."_

"_Sakura for the love of Kami let it go. Leave Naruto and Ino alone all ready."_

"_Sakura-chan, you have been talking a lot about Naruto-kun and Ino-chan's relationship." Hinata added._

_Sakura sighed. Her friends didn't even want to hear her what she had to say right now. Where was the love and support? Friends were supposed to be there for one another no matter what. _

"_It's because there's something funny going on between them. Why won't you guys listen to me?"_

"_We have been listening." The brunette spoke. "And right now we're tired of listening to you. So why don't you shut up already?"_

_Tenten hadn't meant to sound so harsh at the time. She was just fed up with listening to Sakura go on and on about the blond couple. Sakura was clearly jealous about them, if she would only admitted it to herself._

"_Fine." Sakura spoke. "I see what kind of friends you are. I'm going to go and see if I can find Naruto. He'll admit the truth to me. Bye."_

"_Bye Sakura, good luck with whatever you're doing."_

_Tenten waited until Sakura was gone before whispering to the blue-haired girl._

"_Sakura needs a hobby, or a man, or something. I think that she's totally losing it."_

_(End of Flashback)_

* * *

"Well Naruto, besides the fact that I don't really see you that much anymore..." She started.

"I'm sorry about that Sakura-chan. I went to the Land of Waves so I wasn't around for awhile."

"That's not what I meant. I haven't spent much time with you ever since you've been dating Ino... Wait, you went back to the Land of Waves? How's Inari and his family doing?"

"They're doing well. Inari's gotten really tall. The boy is a complete and total pervert though. He wouldn't stop making comments about Ino-chan."

Sakura let out a laugh. It was hard to picture. Who would have thought that the shy little dark-haired boy would turn into a teenage pervert.

"Really? Wow, a lot has changed."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"Especially if Inari is into girls like Ino-pig."

Naruto frowned. "That's not very nice Sakura-chan."

"Yeah, I know. I was just kidding, sorry." She said in between giggles.

The two friends sat there quietly. Neither one of them talking for awhile until Sakura spoke first.

"Naruto, I really missed you, you know. It hasn't been the same between us. It feels like we've grown apart ever since you've started dating Ino-pig. I don't like to have that feeling, you know."

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I don't want you to think that I've been avoiding you or something."

"No, I don't think that at all. Ino has been holding you hostage though." She laughed. "Anyway, speaking of you two, how are you two doing?"

Naruto did not answer her right away. Technically, he and Ino were not in a good place at this moment. He had no idea where he stood with her. He hadn't spoken to her or seen her at all in the last few days. So, he came up with the only answer that he could at the time.

"We're fine."

"Naruto, you aren't lying to me again are you? Come on, tell me the truth."

* * *

Meanwhile Ino was still walking around when someone called out to her.

"Oi, Ino."

She turned around to see her black-haired friend. Ino gave him a smile. It was definitely good to see a friend right now.

"Hi, Shika."

"Hm." He nodded. "What's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Tch,"He snorted. "You're lying." He said plainly. "If everything is fine then how come this is the second time I've seen you walk by here?"

She was caught. She couldn't think of a good excuse to tell him. Besides he would most likely be able to tell that she was lying to him.

"Do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?" Shikamaru asked.

She did need someone to talk to, and she doubted that going to her mother would help. She decided to take Shikamaru up on his offer.

"Alright." She nodded.

The two friends sat down at a spot underneath a tree. Shikamaru put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the tree.

"Shika, you know that I hate it when you smoke."

"Yeah." He whispered. He then put out his cigarette, then turned to his friend. "What's on your mind, Ino?"

"Well, I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah? Ino, you aren't in trouble or something, are you?"

* * *

Sakura frowned at Naruto's silence. He had to be really thinking of something important to not respond.

"Naruto, how can I understand what's going on if you keep lying to me? I thought we were friends?"

"We are Sakura-chan."

"Then you should be able to trust me enough to tell me what's going on."

"Sakura, it's a long story... It's a confusing time for Ino-chan and me."

Sakura didn't understand what he was really getting at and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed. "You and Ino aren't thinking about taking that next step, are you?"

Sakura stood up from her spot on top of the Yondaime's head.

Naruto blinked. He held his mouth open in shock.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Omigod." She panicked. "You guys aren't going to be that stupid, are you? You've only been together for what, a few months? Come on Naruto, think about the consequences."

"Sakura-chan?" He repeated.

"This is unbelievable I didn't think that this would ever happen. Naruto, don't make me a godmother, yet. Please." She begged.

"Sakura-chan." He stood up, putting his hands on to her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. "You are overreacting. Ino-chan and I aren't there yet."

"Oh, good." She sighed in relief. "I don't think I could handle that."

Once that whole misunderstanding was out of the way, the two friends sat back down.

"Sakura-chan, Ino and I..."

"Are you guys having problems?"

"Um, yeah."

"Well, all couples have problems Naruto. Do you think its perfect for Hinata and Kiba, or Lee and Tenten, for that matter? I'm sure they have their issues as well. You aren't thinking of calling it quits, are you?"

Naruto sighed to himself. He figured that he might as well confess the truth to her. She was, after all, his best friend. And, in truth, he felt that there was really no point in lying any further.

"There's something that you should probably know about Ino and me."

Sakura stared wide eyed at her whisker-faced friend. This was the moment of truth. Naruto was about to confess to her something huge. She could feel it. She would finally learn what the big secret was.

"_I wonder what he's going to say?"_

"Alright, what is it Naruto?"

"We um..."

"Yeah, yeah." She urged him to continue.

"Ino-chan and I..."

"For Kami's sake Naruto, spill it already?"

"Ino-chan and I were never really a couple in the first place. There ... I said it." He admitted.

* * *

Ino turned to look at her dark-haired friend. Shikamaru stared back at her. He was clearly expecting an answer.

"You know what, yeah, I'm in trouble."

"You are? Ino, what did you do?"

"I did something really stupid. I fell for a guy that has feelings for someone else."

Shikamaru hadn't been expecting her to say that. He expected her to say that she was in some serious trouble, like with her parents, Tsunade-sama, or even during a mission.

"Ino, you knew that Naruto had a thing for Sakura from the beginning. Why did you even get involved with him? I really don't see how I can help you out of this." He spoke honestly.

"I know. I just wish that you could Shika, but no one can get me out of this."

Shikamaru sat thinking to himself for a minute. He could think of only one thing to say to her. It was the only thing that made any kind of sense.

"Ino, you should dump him. Break up with him before you really get hurt."

"There's a problem with that. I can't exactly break up with someone that I was never actually dating in the first place."

Shikamaru stared at Ino. She didn't give him any eye contact. To be honest he wasn't really expecting her to say that. He had assumed that the two of them were dating. They'd given him no reason to think otherwise.

"So you guys had been faking your relationship."

"Yeah." She nodded. "We did it for a lot of reasons. I thought it would be a good idea for him to get over Sakura. And I thought that it would be fun to tick Sakura off a little."

"Yep, sounds like something you would do, Ino."

"Yeah. Well, that was my reason at first. But soon, I realized that Naruto was a good guy, you know? So I wanted him to get all the things that he wanted. And we both know that has always been Sakura. I..." She paused. "I just never expected to fall for him."

Shikamaru could have told Ino from the beginning that this plan was a stupid one.

"Ino, you had to know this plan of yours was bound to have consequences."

"Yeah I guess so. I know that I probably should have thought things through better. I just really didn't expect to fall for him. I know it was stupid Shika, but I can't help how I feel now."

Shikamaru slowly put his hand on to his friend's shoulder.

"So, Ino, what are you going to do now?"

* * *

Silence filled the air on top of the Hokage monument. Sakura closed her mouth. The surprise slowly leaving her face. She had finally received the answer she had been looking for this whole time. Now she knew why the idea of Ino and Naruto was so weird to her. They had never been a couple in the first place.

"So you guys were just pretending this whole time?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"Ha!" She shouted. "I knew that something weird was going on between you two. You guys had me fooled for a moment. But your relationship just happened way too fast."

Sakura continued to go on and on until she noticed how quiet Naruto was. His facial expression seemed sad. She had not meant to hurt his feelings in any way.

"Oh." She paused. " Geez, I'm sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to go off like that. Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Naruto, quit lying and talk to me."

"Sakura-chan, it's complicated."

"May I ask a question? Why would you two go so far to pretend that you were a couple?"

She really had to know the answer to this question. She knew that she would never be able to let this go until she found out why.

"Well, it was mainly to get you jealous."

"What?"

"Yeah, Ino-chan wanted to help me get you to admit that you had feelings for me. So we ... well it was really mostly her idea ... we decided to pretend to be a couple just to get your attention."

"Hm." Sakura thought about it. Now that Naruto had admitted the truth to her, it made perfect sense. For as long as she could remember, Naruto had held very strong feelings for her. She didn't know why she hadn't seen them pulling something like this before.

"It sounds like something Ino-pig would do."

"I don't even know why we went through with it. It was probably a real stupid plan to begin with. I had my doubts from the beginning. I probably should have talked Ino-chan out of it or something. And now..."

"Now what, Naruto?"

"Nothing. It was all for nothing."

Sakura gently put her hand to Naruto's shoulder. She didn't want to see him down like this. He was her best friend. She had to see him through this. Judging by his facial expression there was something else that he wasn't telling her. She came to a conclusion. She wasn't sure if there was some truth to this, but it was worth a try to ask him.

"Naruto, I could be wrong. But I'm going to ask this anyway. I just want you to be honest with me okay?"

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto, do you think..." She hesitated. "Well, I was wondering, have you fallen for Ino?"

* * *

Ino sighed to herself. She was now sitting with her arms around her knees.

"We kissed." She whispered. "And now I don't know what to do."

"Did you like it?"

"Huh?"

"Did you like his kiss?"

"Yeah." She answered. "I really did."

"So, you got your answer. You go to Naruto and tell him how you really feel."

Ino shook her head no. She couldn't do that, anything but that.

"No, he still likes Sakura. I don't stand a chance. I'm not going to even bother. As you would say, it's too troublesome."

Shikamaru frowned slightly. This wasn't the Ino that he knew, his friend, the girl he knew his whole life. She seemed like a completely different person.

"Come on Ino, you don't even sound like yourself. Where the hell did all your confidence go? Where's that troublesome girl I know so well?"

"Troublesome?" She repeated, her mind still preoccupied with thoughts about Naruto. Normally she would have jumped at berating him for using his trademark phrase to describe her.

"Yeah." He gave her a small smile. "You and Naruto kissed. That had to mean something to the both of you. And how do you know if he even still likes Sakura? Did you even bother to ask him? Besides, I thought that you promised Asuma-sensei that you wouldn't lose to Sakura, in ninjutsu or love? Suck it up and go tell Naruto the truth already."

Ino flinched when he said Asuma's name. Shikamaru was only trying to give her a bit of tough love, a push in the right direction. She appreciated what he was trying to do for her. When she turned to face Shikamaru again, there was now a glint of determination in her aqua-colored pools.

Shikamaru smirked when he saw that same determination he was so used to seeing in his friend's eyes.

Ino reached over and hugged him.

"Thank you, Shika."

"It's not a problem."

"You're right. I'm going to go tell Naruto how I feel. I'm going to take a chance and go for it. I would never want to disappoint Asuma-sensei." She smiled.

Ino let her friend go and then stood up. She suddenly found her strength again. She needed to do this now before she lost her nerve.

"I'll see you Shika and I'll let you know how it turns out."

"I'll be around." Shikamaru promised.

"Bye."

She gave him another smile before heading off to Naruto's apartment.

* * *

Naruto didn't answer Sakura right away. Instead he sat there staring into the sky.

"It's alright Naruto. You can tell me if it's true or not."

She had truly wanted to know the answer. Had Naruto fallen for Ino in the process of their plan? It was definitely much more than a possibility. Naruto still hadn't answered her question.

"Naruto? Naruto, please answer me."

"Yeah." He soon spoke. "That kiss wasn't faked, Sakura-chan. When we kissed, I felt something that I've never felt before. I thought she felt the same. I really thought that the feeling was mutual."

"You guys had kissed before. What was so different about this time?"

"Oh, you mean that time where you saw us. It wasn't really a real kiss. I didn't kiss her back at that time. But when we kissed a few days ago it felt..." He paused. "It felt..." He tried to put his feelings into words.

"It felt right." Sakura finished, unsure of why her heart suddenly felt empty.

"Yeah. It felt really right. I thought that she liked the kiss too, but I guess that I was wrong."

Sakura placed her hand on to her friend's shoulder.

"Well, what did you say Naruto? Maybe you just misunderstood her. You know you've always been a bit dense when it comes to relationships." She teased gently.

"Hey!"

"Well." She chuckled. "You have been known to be more than slow in that department."

"Yeah, well I didn't misunderstand anything this time."

"What happened Naruto?"

"Ino-chan regretted our kiss. She said so herself. She wanted to forget that the whole thing happened. And to make things worse, she didn't even believe that I wanted to kiss her in the first place."

"Why? You don't just do things for no reason. Naruto, what else is going on?"

* * *

When Ino arrived at Naruto's apartment, she stopped before knocking on the door. The platinum blonde gathered up her courage, and then proceeded to knock on the door.

"Naruto, open up okay."

There was no answer. Ino knew that she couldn't blame him for not wanting to speak to her. She had been practically avoiding him for days. But Ino knew that she had to keep trying.

"Naruto, open up already. We really need to talk. I know that I ran out on you the other day, and I'm sorry. I'm here now, so we can make things right."

There was still no response from him. He wouldn't ignore her this much, no matter how upset he might have been with her. He would have come to the door by now. She came to the conclusion that Naruto was simply not home.

"I need to go find him."

She searched everywhere – Ichiraku's, the training grounds, ... She even asked everyone she met during her search, but no one had seen him.

"Are you sure that you haven't seen him, Ten?" Ino asked the brunette.

"No, I'm sorry Ino. I haven't seen Naruto. I have to get going, or I will be late for my mission. I'll see you around, okay? I hope that you find him."

"Yeah, thanks. Bye, Tenten."

As she was about to give up, an idea suddenly came to her.

"He said that he liked to go up to the Hokage monument. Maybe he's up there. Yeah, I'll check the Hokage monument." She decided. And with that she ran off towards her destination.

* * *

"Naruto, what else is going on?" Sakura asked again.

"She thinks that I only kissed her because I didn't have you to kiss at the time. She thinks that I was just using her as a replacement for you." He admitted the truth.

Naruto knew this to be true. It was probably the reason why she had left like that in the first place. Sakura turned her attention elsewhere, while she allowed her mind to process everything.

"Naruto, can you really blame her? If this whole thing was to make me jealous, don't you think that she would automatically assume that?"

"Yeah." He just nodded.

"You weren't doing that were you?" Sakura asked. "Because, Naruto if that's what you were doing..."

"No." He cut her off quickly. "I wasn't using her in that way at all. I wasn't even expecting to kiss her. Besides, trying to make you jealous didn't even work anyway. You were never jealous, Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired teen swallowed the lump of nervousness in her throat. Since Naruto had been so truthful with her, she felt the need to be honest with him as well. He had a right to know the truth.

"That's not entirely true, Naruto. I was j-jealous."

"Huh?" He blinked.

"Yeah," She nodded. "I was jealous that you were spending all your time with her. It felt like I was losing you or something. I guess that I never thought about losing you before. Naruto, you're important to me and I don't want to lose what we have."

"Sakura-chan?" He whispered.

"I know that I haven't always been nice to you, and I'm really sorry for my past. I should have never treated you that way Naruto. You didn't deserve it. Yet, no matter what I did or how I treated you, you were always there for me. You were always helping me, protecting me, cheering me up if I needed it. Naruto, I appreciate everything you've done. I really do."

Naruto nodded.

"Sure Sakura-chan, I told you before that I'm always going to be here for you."

She smiled at her friend. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Naruto, sometimes I feel like I really don't deserve you. I used to be terrible to you when we were younger."

Naruto slowly put his arm around the green-eyed girl.

"We've been through a lot together."

"Yeah, we really have." She agreed. "We've been through hell together. Maybe that's why we're so close. I don't ever want to lose the bond that we have."

"Sakura-chan, you won't."

"You don't know what could happen Naruto. Neither one of us can predict the future. So, that's why we have to promise to always be there for each other, for as long as we can."

Naruto stared at his pink-haired friend. She was acting very strange to him. He turned her around so they were facing each other.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright? Why are you talking like this?"

"I just shouldn't have ever taken you for granted. I'm going to make things right for my behavior. I promise Naruto."

"I..." Naruto started.

"Naruto, don't say anything. Don't say that I don't have to make up for the way I treated you, because I do."

"Sakura-chan." He whispered. "I never held any grudges. I just accepted you for you. And I'm grateful to have you as a friend. You will always be Sakura-chan to me. You can always count on me. So enough of this feeling guilty because of the past. We're okay now."

The pink-haired teen wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Naruto. Thank you so much."

She slowly pulled away from the embrace and stared into his cerulean pools.

"Um...Sakura-chan?"

"This feels nice Naruto. Let's sit here like this for awhile."

"Um, sure." He agreed.

She replaced her arms around his shoulders and leaned into him. He had his arms wrapped around her waist. Their faces leaning extremely close to one another.

Just then, Ino arrived to the top of the Hokage monument. She knew that Naruto had to be up here. She stopped briefly to catch her breath.

"Man, I really need to get into better shape." She teased herself.

She looked around for any sign of Naruto. She paused when she saw him sitting on top of the Yondaime's head. The smile from her face quickly faded when she noticed that he was not alone. He was holding Sakura in a tight embrace, the kind that one would find two lovers in. And were they kissing? She wasn't completely sure what they were doing over there. Their faces were so close it looked like they were indeed kissing, about to kiss, or had already kissed.

"No." She shook her head in shock.

Ino backed up a little. She felt a slight pang in her heart. The tears threatened to come down her eyes. All she wanted to do was make things right with him. And here he was with Sakura. He couldn't even wait to be with the pink-haired girl.

"This hurts. It hurts so bad." She cried to herself. "Why did he have to do this to me? I thought our kiss meant something to him."

The platinum blonde turned around so that she could leave. There was no way she was going to stand there and watch the rest of this display.

"I guess that I really shouldn't be surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have waited so long to tell him the truth. Why should I be surprised? He would jump at the opportunity to be with Forehead."

Ino wiped the tears out of her eyes, only to find that the tears wouldn't stop coming down. The painful feeling in her heart wouldn't go away.

"Why does it hurt this badly? He's just another guy, isn't he? It shouldn't have to hurt this much. It wasn't even supposed to be a real relationship anyway."

The platinum blonde could not get the image of them kissing out of her mind. It completely took over her thoughts. She felt almost as if she had been stabbed in the chest. She never felt this kind of pain before. Ino closed her eyes and another tear came strolling down her cheek.

"There's a reason why this hurts so much." She whispered.

She could only come up with one conclusion.

"Do I love him? Does this hurt so much because I love that blond baka?"

Ino had known that she felt something for Naruto. She had cared for him a lot. But her feelings for him had been deeper than she had first realized. She noticed how upset this was making her. It wouldn't have hurt this much if she didn't love him. Suddenly all the fond memories they'd shared together flooded her mind – everything that led up to their kiss a few days ago. That amazing, wonderful, passionate kiss. The kiss that made her realize just how she felt for the whisker-faced male.

Ino nodded to herself sadly and whispered, "I love him. I really love him."

Ino didn't see any other explanation except for that.

If this had been anyone else besides Naruto, she probably wouldn't have cared half this much. But Naruto wasn't just some guy to her. He was so much more than that. She thought of all the things that he had done for her, how he had protected her, and how sweet he was to her. No guy had ever treated her in the way that Naruto had. Naruto was somebody to hold on to. And, in truth, now she really couldn't imagine her life without him in it, in some sort of way.

Ino laughed to herself.

"It's funny, who would have ever thought that I would ever have these sort of feelings for Naruto."

If someone would have told her all those months ago that she would end up falling for Naruto. She would have never believed them. It seemed like such a far-fetched, crazy, unbelievable idea. The two of them together would have probably seemed like the most ridiculous match ever. Yet, now the idea of being with him didn't seem ridiculous at all. In fact that was all she wanted. She wanted to be his girlfriend for real. Only, having witnessed what she had just seen had lowered her confidence. She had lost him without ever really having had him in the first place.

"He was never really mine to begin with. I never had a chance with him."

The determination that was in Ino's eyes left her. There was no point in having it any longer. She had lost to Sakura.

"Well," She thought. "At least our plan wasn't for nothing. It looks like you got what you wanted in the end, Naruto. I'll try to be happy for you."

The platinum blonde decided that she should just go home. She wanted to curl up under her covers and stay there. Ino wanted to forget all about the name Naruto Uzumaki. She wanted to bury her feelings for him. That was, of course, easier said than done.

"Come on Ino, pull yourself together. It'll be okay. This was the way that it was supposed to be. You're a big girl, you can handle this."

As she was walking passed the benches she noticed Shikamaru sitting there gazing up at the clouds. He looked her way when he heard her footsteps. Shikamaru stared at her. He stood up and put out his second cigarette of the day.

"Ino, you're back fast. What's wrong? Are you alright? You look like you've been crying or something." He noticed.

Ino turned her head to the side for a moment, before running into his arms. She was more than glad to see him right now. Shikamaru stood there with a surprised look on his face.

"Shika." She cried out.

"_Man, what do I do?"_ He thought. He took a breath. Shikamaru slowly hugged her back. He didn't really have any other idea what to do for her right now. This seemed like the perfect solution.

"It'll be okay Ino. It'll be alright." He whispered to her soothingly.

**A/N: Ha, how's that. Review please and let me know what you thought. See you all for the next chapter. Ja ne.**


	16. Pushing you away

**A/N : Hells yeah I'm back Woo-Hoo. Did ya miss me? Lol, just kidding. Yeah, but I know its been awhile. I don't really have any excuses for my absence. I guess you could say I was sort of in a slump or something. Or we could just blame it on life or whatever. Any who I just wanted to say thanks a bunch for all the reviews last chapter. I didn't expect so many. You guys are awesome. XD.**

**Warnings for this chapter :Unfortunately I was in a very bad mood while writing this chapter, and as much as I didn't want those feelings to interfere with my writing I'm afraid it did anyway. Oh well, it really can't be helped. I'm afraid this was the best I could produce sorry. I don't like this chapter much, and I'm not really expecting you all to like it either. But I did my best given the circumstances, please read anyway. On a better note, I'm guessing that you all realize this story will be nearing an ending soon if I can make it. I want to give you guys an estimate guess of 2 to 3 chapters but I'm not sure. It shouldn't be much longer than 2 to 3 chapters that is. Anyway, enjoy the ride to the end.**

**Thank yous: Let's see what musical influence's can I thank for getting me somewhat out of my slump. I'd like to thank Flyleaf (Awesome as hell), Skillet(Again), Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Gackt-sama, and a whole lot more.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Duh. Or the song "I don't care" By Apocolytptica and Adam Gontier. My new theme song Lol. And I don't own the song "With you" by Linkin Park although I wish I did. I own nothing. And so concludes the long ass author note. Now on with the chapter.**

* * *

Shikamaru let Ino go and led her over to the bench he had been sitting on.

"What happened? How did it go?"

Ino wiped the tears out of her eyes once more.

"Naruto was busy."

"Busy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"Yeah, I went up to the Hokage monument to see him. Only he wasn't alone. He was with Sakura and they were kissing."

Shikamaru nodded his head. Naturally he saw why this had made Ino so upset.

"Troublesome." He muttered.

"I can't really be surprised, you know. He's liked Sakura for what, years now. I don't know why I expected him to get over it."

The black-haired male grew silent. He really wanted to say something to make his friend feel better. Ino leaned into his chest further. Shikamaru sat there with his arm wrapped around her, it was the only thing he could think of to do at a time like this.

"I'm such an idiot." Ino muttered.

"You're not Ino."

"I really am. I should have already anticipated something like this happening. I just thought that with everything that we've been through. I meant something to him. I wanted to believe he would choose me over her, talk about naive."

Shikamaru decided that he would just let Ino vent out all of her frustrations. He didn't want to interrupt her when she clearly needed to get all of her emotions off her chest. Once he was sure that she was done, the dark haired male spoke.

"Ino, are you sure that they were kissing? Maybe you misunderstood."

Ino became silent. She wasn't all together sure what she had seen. It had only looked like they were kissing. It was either that or they had just kissed before she arrived. The only thing she knew was that she didn't want to think about it. Also, she wasn't about to let Shikamaru know that she might have seen it wrong.

"I didn't misunderstand anything. I'm sure I was interrupting something when I got up to the Hokage monument. All I can see is him holding her. I just want to get it out of my head. I want more than anything for it to go away." The platinum blonde told her friend honestly.

* * *

**(Back at the Hokage monument)**

Sakura and Naruto slowly pulled away from their hug. They stared at each other before Sakura turned away.

"Um..." Naruto started.

The green-eyed teen turned back to look at her whisker-faced friend.

"I just really had to get that off my chest. It was bothering me for awhile."

"It's okay Sakura-chan."

"I had a lot of time to think Naruto. That's pretty much all I've been doing. I want you to know that no matter what we'll always be friends."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Of course we will."

Naruto could see there was something bothering else on the medic-nin's mind. It was now his turn to find out what she was thinking.

"Sakura-chan, is there something else that you wanted to talk about?"

The young woman grew silent. Naruto smiled a little.

"_I guess it's her turn to get all quiet now."_ Naruto thought.

"Naruto, I have to ask this. I won't be able to let this go unless I ask you."

"Okay." He nodded. "You can ask whatever you want Sakura-chan, you know that."

"This is probably really silly." She was hesitant.

"Tell me." He encouraged her.

Sakura nodded. She took a breath to gather up all of her thoughts. She turned to face the whisker-faced male.

"Naruto, that crush you had on me. It's gone right? Or do you think it might still be there?"

The blond male couldn't say he was surprised that she had asked that question. For a very long time he did indeed have feelings for the pink-haired girl. She had been the object of his affections for most of his life.

"Sakura-chan, you were my first real crush and I will always remember it. I guess for awhile I wasn't sure if I still liked you that way, but now I really don't think it's there anymore. Ino..." He started.

Sakura smiled as he mentioned the platinum blonde. She wasn't stupid she could see where his mind really was.

"I guess these feelings I have for Ino-chan are different from the ones I had for you. I feel different when I'm around her. Sakura-chan even though those other feelings I used to have for you are no longer there. I do care about you and I always will."

"_Sounds like your in love Naruto." _She thought to herself.

"Thanks Naruto, I really needed to hear that. For awhile I was very confused about my true feelings for you. I wondered if there was possibly something more, or if we were just really good friends."

"What did you come up with?" Naruto wondered.

Sakura then gave him a warm, bright smile.

"Naruto, we have been through a lot together. You're my best friend, who I trust more than anything. I think, no..." She paused. "I know that's all we'll ever be to each other and I'm fine with that. I want you to be happy and it's obvious to me Ino's is the one who makes you happy. So you know what you have to do now, right?"

Naruto nodded. He had to go find Ino and tell her his true feelings. He needed to make her understand that she was the one he wanted to be with.

"Yeah I know. I just have to make her understand this time."

"Go for it Naruto, you won't know until you try."

"Okay." He smiled. There was a bright glint of determination in his cerulean eyes. "You're right Sakura-chan. I better go find Ino, I'll see you around."

"Alright." She nodded. "Let me know how things turn out. I'm rooting for you Naruto. Oh, and try not to plan the wedding too soon okay Naruto." She laughed.

"Okay, whatever." He laughed as well. "Bye Sakura-chan." He waved and made his way to Ino's house.

Naruto raced down the Hokage monument at full speed. There was really no time to waste. He couldn't let another minute go by without talking to the platinum blonde. He soon found himself outside of the Yamanaka household. He reached into his pocket, taking out the butterfly shaped necklace he wanted to give her. He would give this to her today and tell her how he truly felt. The young man took a deep breath. He was soon greeted by her mother.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Yamanaka."

She hadn't really been expecting to see him, but that didn't mean she wasn't glad to see the young man standing there.

"Hello Naruto-kun." She smiled. "It's nice to see you. Its been awhile. I was beginning to think you were getting sick of us." She teased gently.

Naruto laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, not at all, is Ino-chan home?"

"No I'm afraid she isn't. It was such a nice day that I made her go out so she could enjoy it. Why don't you come in so you can wait for her?"

"Sure." He nodded.

The blond boy sat down on the couch, while Mrs. Yamanaka came back out with some tea and dango for the two of them. There was no reason why she couldn't be a good hostess.

"I' am very glad you stopped by Naruto-kun. Ino has been pretty quiet these last few days without you around. I think she missed you."

"_If she missed me so much why didn't she come to see me or something?"_ He wondered.

The older woman sat down in the armchair across from the couch.

"I'm guessing you two have been avoiding each other these past few days."

"Not really Mrs. Yamanaka. I mean..." He paused. "I think that she's been avoiding me. I think things started to change after we..." He paused again.

Naruto wasn't sure whether or not Mrs. Yamanaka knew about the kiss, and he doubted if he she even be having this conversation with Ino's mother. Mrs. Yamanaka chuckled lightly.

"It's alright Naruto. Ino already told me about the kiss."

"Oh." He whispered. "So, um, you're not going to scream at me or hit me for kissing your daughter, are you?" Naruto asked in a somewhat nervous manner. She only gave the young man a warm smile.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. I'm not going to yell at you for kissing Ino-chan. You must really like her."

Naruto only nodded. It wasn't like he wanted to keep his feelings for the blue-eyed girl a secret.

"She likes you too Naruto-kun, all I can tell you is don't give up on her. She can be a bit stubborn, but if you truly like her then I think it's worth fighting for."

* * *

Ino sat up and stopped leaning on her friend.

"Thank you for listening to me Shika. I really needed someone to talk to."

"It's no problem Ino, so what are you going to do now?"

"Nothing." She answered. "I'll probably congratulate the new couple. I'll wish them nothing but the best, although I'll be lying the whole time."

Shikamaru had anticipated this sort of response from her. He knew the platinum blonde too well. He didn't agree with the way she was going to approach the situation. He felt that the best thing for her to do was talk to Naruto face to face. It was better to confront the situation head on.

"Ino, I think that you need to talk to Naruto."

"I don't want to talk to him. Besides he's probably still sucking the life out of Sakura. I probably couldn't break those two apart even if I tried." Ino spoke bitterly.

"Do me a favor and go talk to him. Don't let the situation spiral further out of control. The least that you can do is tell him everything you told me."

The blue-eyed female turned to face the lazy genius.

"Shika." She whispered.

"Yeah?"

He studied her facial expression and the far off look in her eyes. She slowly put her hand to his cheek. His stoic expression didn't change not once.

"Ino?"

She leaned forward, preparing to press her lips to his. But before she could Shikamaru stopped her by putting his finger to her lips.

"What?" She questioned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stopping you before you make a stupid mistake. It's what friends do." Shikamaru said simply.

"What are you saying? How would my kissing you be a mistake?"

Shikamaru stared down into those aqua-colored orbs. He knew that deep down she knew the answer to that question. She just needed someone else to say it for her.

"You were only going to kiss me to forget about what happened with Naruto. You wanted to make him feel the same jealousy and hurt that you feel. Ino, I wont let you do something stupid, and I won't let you use me that way."

Ino nodded, she knew Shikamaru was right. It wouldn't have been fair to drag him into this mess. Her situation with Naruto already had a lot going on as it was. She didn't need to drag him into this any further.

"You're right." She spoke.

"Besides we both know you didn't really want to kiss me. Naruto is the one you want, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "He is." She admitted.

"Then what are you doing still hanging around with me? Go on and talk to him, maybe you will get an explanation."

"What can he possibly say to me?"

"Just hear him out Ino, get going."

"Aw." She pouted. "You're no help at all you know that."

"Goodbye Ino." He gave her a small smile.

"Bye, thanks for nothing you lazy jerk." She teased him.

The platinum blonde stuck her tongue out at her friend before walking away. Shikamaru watched until she was gone from sight.

"Good luck Ino." He whispered.

* * *

Naruto now sat alone in the Yamanaka household. Mrs. Yamanaka had to attend to the shop and Inoichi was nowhere to be found. The young man found himself growing increasingly more nervous. What if Ino didn't want to hear what he had to say? Or worse, what if she did listen but decided to reject him anyway. What if he didn't stand a chance with the beautiful kunoichi? He had been rejected by Sakura more times than he'd like to think about. He didn't want to have history repeat itself. Naruto wanted to make thins thing work with Ino. He smiled to himself as he thought of everything the two of them had been through together.

One moment that stuck in his mind was when he had told her about the Kyuubi, the way she had cried for him, the way that she had held him in her arms. It was a moment that he would never forget. It was a sort of special moment shared between the two of them. Who would have ever thought that Uzumaki Naruto would end up falling for Yamanaka Ino of all people. If someone would have told him all those months ago that he would have feelings for the blue-eyed girl, he would have probably laughed. Nothing would have seemed more absurd.

"_You know, now the idea of Ino-chan and me doesn't seem crazy at all."  
_

He didn't think it was crazy anymore, spending so much time with her made him realize this. Now the only thing he wanted to do was make it official. He wanted to end their charade. The time for games was over.

""_I hope that Ino-chan wants the same thing I want."  
_

He shoved his hands into his pockets in a somewhat nervous manner. He didn't know why he was even feeling so nervous. He had spent a lot of time with Ino. They had become good friends in the mist of their plan. Naruto knew he had to have the platinum blonde in his life somehow, some way or another. He turned around when he heard the front door open. He saw Ino standing there. She looked surprised to see him, more importantly her eyes looked red. She looked as if she had been crying. Ino blinked to make sure she saw Naruto really here in her house. What the hell was he doing here? She really didn't want to see him at his moment.

"Naruto?" She questioned.

"Yeah, hey Ino-chan."

"What are you doing here?"

The blond male sent her his familiar smile. Ino didn't want to admit it but a part of her was happy to see him. A part of her wanted to hug him, while the other part of her wanted to scream at him to go away.

"I'm here to see you Ino-chan. I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you." She told him.

"Huh?"

"You heard me, I don't want to talk to you. So you can see yourself out."

Ino started for the stairs so that she could go up to her room. Naruto stared at her with a confused look on his face.

"Ino-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just leave."

"Wait." He reached for her arm, causing her to stop. She flinched at his touch.

"Let go of me."

"Will you at least tell me what's going on? Have you been crying?" He asked trying to push her bang out of her face.

Ino pushed his hand out of the way. She turned around, he immediately noticed how red her eyes were. She had indeed been crying.

"What happened? Why were you crying?"

"I was not crying, baka." She lied. "Now if you don't mind I would appreciate it if you left."

Naruto didn't understand why she was being so hostile towards him. They hadn't left things on that bad a note the last time they had seen each other.

"I can't leave just yet Ino-chan, not until I talk with you."

The platinum blonde sighed. Naruto wasn't going to go away until he said his peace.

"Alright, say what you have to say and then get out."

"Ino-chan why are you so angry? What happened?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. I'm sure that you have better things to do than waste your time here. So get to the point."

Naruto realized that no matter how much he asked Ino was not going to tell him anything. He was worried about this, because if there was something he could do to make it better he wanted to do it. Ino sat down with her arms folded, head cocked to the side so she wasn't facing him. Naruto could feel the tension in the room. It gave him an uneasy feeling.

"Ino, I've been thinking about you for the last few days." He started.

"Liar." She muttered.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't say anything, please continue with what you have to say."

"Yeah." He nodded. "So, I really couldn't think of anything besides you and our kiss. You left so fast the other day we didn't really get a chance to talk."

"I think we've said all we had to say."

The blue-eyed girl seemed completely focused on her nails. Naruto noticed he wasn't receiving any eye contact from her whatsoever. It was starting to annoy him. He wanted her to give him some sort of attention. This was important.

"I don't think so Ino-chan. We didn't really talk much. I wanted you to know I really did want the kiss."

Ino wanted to believe in his words. He wasn't one to lie, but right now all she was him being with Sakura. It was the only thing she could see. Her mind wouldn't allow her to think of anything else.

"I thought I told you we should forget it happened."

"I know what you said Ino, but come on, can you really forget about it. Can you honestly tell me that you don't still think about it. I know I do."

"Naruto?" she whispered.

"We have to be honest Ino-chan. You wanted our kiss as much as I did, am I right or not?"

"Naruto, what does it matter it's over and done with."

"Ino?"

"I think you've said all you have to say, goodbye Naruto."

She prepared to leave. He knew he had to stop her. He put his hand to her arm and turned her around so they were looking at each other.

"Ino, don't leave."

"Naruto I don't want to hear it. I really don't want to hear anything you have to say. So why don't you..."

Naruto sighed before grabbing her and pulling her towards him. Ino simply wasn't getting it. He leaned down capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Ino tensed up at the feel of his kiss. She tried to fight it only struggling against him.

"_I need to fight this."  
_

Only she soon found herself giving in and returning his kiss. And just for a second she allowed herself to forget what she had seen with Sakura.

"Oh, excuse me I didn't mean to interrupt." Mrs. Yamanaka spoke.

At the sound of her mother's voice Ino pulled away from him.

"You've got some nerve. Mom, make sure Uzumaki-san sees himself out, bye."

"But..." He started.

"Bye." Ino repeated as she started for the stairs.

Ino flinched when he heard the door slam shut. Mrs. Yamanaka smiled apologetically.

"Forgive her for her behavior. She's only lashing out like this because she's upset about something."

"Yeah I know, I can tell. She wont tell me what's wrong."

"I'll go talk to her okay Naruto-kun, wait here okay."

Naruto nodded, deciding to just listen to the older blonde-haired woman. He was sure that she knew how to handle the situation. Mrs. Yamanaka ascended the stairs to her daughter's room. The blonde-haired woman knocked on the door.

"Go away."

"Ino-chan, it's mom. I'm coming in alright."

She opened the door to see her daughter laying on her bed with her arms around her pillow. Mrs. Yamanaka sat down on the bed besides her daughter.

"Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the matter dear? It looked like you and Naruto-kun were getting things on track."

"I don't want to talk about that idiot."

Ino's mother rubbed her daughter's shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

"What happened?"

"He's got some nerve mom. How dare he kiss me after what he did?"

"What did he do?"

Ino then went into details about what she had seen on top of the Hokage monument. Her mother had never seen her get this upset over a boy, not even when she had that childhood crush on the Uchiha. Then again Naruto was more than just some boy. He was important to her daughter, she could tell.

"Now do you see why I don't want to talk to him."

"Naruto-kun must be very important to you for you to be this upset."

Ino raised an eyebrow to her mother. She put on her what-the-fuck-face.

"Don't look at me that way Ino-chan. I've never seen you get this upset over a boy. Now are you and Naruto-kun dating?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ino asked.

"Is he your boyfriend or not?"

Ino pouted, lip quivering and everything. So he wasn't truly her boyfriend, according to her she had a right to feel betrayed.

"No." She mumbled.

"What was that dear?"

"No." Ino spoke louder. "No, he's not my boyfriend."

"Then you really have no reason to be upset with him. It's not like he betrayed you. And for the record you aren't even sure what you saw. You could very well be wrong dear. Did you ever stop to consider that possibility?"

"You should have seen the way he was with her. It feels like he betrayed me."

"Then he must be truly important to you. I think you need to go downstairs so that you can talk to him. And don't have a childish fit, talk to him like the young adult you are."

Ino turned away from her mother. She was only trying to give her some good advice, like any mother would give their child. At this time though Ino didn't want to hear it.

"Mom, please tell him to leave. I don't wan to talk to him."

Mrs. Yamanaka sighed to herself. She could see the situation would only get worse if Ino chose to ignore him. But she couldn't force her daughter to do something she didn't want to do.

"Alright Ino-chan I'll tell him to go. You know you're not helping the situation if you keep ignoring him. Sooner or later you will have to talk to him. I will respect your wishes though."

Ino's mother returned downstairs to see Naruto standing with his hands in his pockets. He immediately noticed the apologetic look on her face.

"She wont come down, huh?" He smiled.

"No, I'm sorry Naruto-kun."

"Well I guess better go up there after her then, huh?"

"She wanted me to ask you to go. But, please don't stop on my account." She smiled back.

Naruto nodded then ran up the stairs. He knocked on one of the doors.

"Mom, please go away. I want to be alone."

Naruto only opened the door to see the platinum blonde laying there staring into space.

"Ino-chan?" He whispered.

Ino paused when she heard Naruto's voice. She could have sworn she had told her mother to ask him to leave. Why was he still here? She sat up and turned to face him.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"You didn't want to come back down, so I came up here to you. So are you going to invite me in to your room? So can we talk or what?"

"You wont leave unless I let you come in here right?"

"Nope." He smiled. "I'm not letting you off so easily this time Ino-chan."

A sigh escaped the blue-eyed female.

"Alright, come in."

Naruto entered the room. It was the first time he had ever been in her room. He took notice to her purple blankets, sheets, and pillows. It seemed as if he had stepped into a wonderland of purple.

"_Geez, and I thought I liked orange. She has me beat hands down."  
_

On the table next to her bed was a stuffed pig that also happened to be purple.

"Um?" Naruto mumbled.

"It was a birthday gift from Shika, Chouji, and Asuma-sensei." She shrugged. "It was supposed to be a joke."

There was also a photo of the former team 10 on the table.

"You miss him, huh?" He pointed to Asuma.

"Yes of course I do, but you aren't here to talk about Asuma-sensei. What else did you want Naruto?"

"_You mean besides you?"_ he thought. "I can't just let things end this way Ino-chan. It doesn't feel right."

"What if I want you to go? You would have to respect my wishes then right?"

Naruto was leaned up against her wall. He stared at her with a serious expression on his face.

"If I believed you really wanted me to go, then yeah, I guess I would have to respect your wishes. But you don't want me to leave right Ino-chan."

The platinum blonde avoided his gaze.

"I think I've made it very clear that I want you to go."

"Liar." He spoke. "I had no idea you've taken to lying now Ino-chan."

Ino sighed to herself. She couldn't help but wonder just when this whole thing was going to come to an end.

"Naruto..." She started.

The whisker-faced male sat down on her bed across from her.

"Look me in my eyes and tell me you want to go."

Ino slowly looked up to meet his gaze.

"Go away." She said in the firmest tone she could muster.

Naruto gently placed his hand to her cheek. Ino did nothing to stop him. She didn't even bother to push his hand away.

"Will you at least tell me why you were so angry before?" he asked.

"Why do you think?"

He frowned slightly.

"If I knew that then I wouldn't be sitting here asking you, would I?"

"Well, I didn't ask you to come over here and bother me."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"Because I told you I want you to go. If anyone is being difficult it's you Naruto."

The blue-eyed male saw the conversation was starting to head towards a full blown argument. He didn't come here to fight with her. Naruto realized he had to be the rational one right now. He placed his hands to her shoulders.

"Ino-chan, talk to me. I need to know why you are so upset. You were crying earlier, what happened? I want to help you."

The platinum blonde slowly pushed his hands off of her shoulders. There was anger written all over her pretty features.

"You want to help me, then leave. I want you to go away."

She then pushed him off of her bed.

"Ino-chan?" He questioned.

"Go away Naruto."

She got up from her bed and began pushing him to the door.

"Why don't you get it through your thick skull. I don't want to see you."

And that was the last thing he heard before the door slammed shut in his face. He blinked.

"Ino-chan, what the hell?"

She didn't respond to him instead all he heard was the sound of the bedroom door locking. He would not be getting into her room like this. Naruto allowed a sigh to escape him. He could see there was no getting through to her right now.

"Alright, have it your way for now Ino-chan."

The spiky-headed blond placed his hand to the doorknob before walking away. He slowly walked down the stairs only to find that Mrs. Yamanaka was no longer there.

"Hey Mrs. Yamanaka I'm leaving now, take care okay." he called out as he let himself out of the front door.

"Oh, Naruto-kun I..."

She was coming from the kitchen only it was too late the front door had closed. Judging by the way he left and the fact that Ino did not come out of her room, things had obviously not gone well.

"Oh, Ino-chan I hope you realize the mistake you're making before it's too late."

* * *

Naruto walked back to his apartment in a somewhat depressed mood. What did he do that was so terrible to make her so angry with him? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. If things were going to be this complicated was a relationship with Ino really worth it? He began to wonder. Then he thought about their kiss and his feelings for her. He couldn't deny that he had strong feelings for her, there was no sense in denying it.

"Yeah, Ino-chan is worth it."

Naruto began to think about it more. Why was he willing to fight so hard for her? Were his feelings for her deeper than he first realized. It had to be for him to not want to give up on her so soon. She was special to him, he knew that much. And truthfully now that he had spent so much time with the blue-eyed girl, he couldn't really imagine life without her. He wanted her in his life some way or another, preferably as his girlfriend.

"Am I in love with Ino-chan?"

He came to one conclusion, the answer had to be yes. It was the only kind of answer he could come up with. It was the only one that seemed to make any kind of sense.

"Hey Naruto?"

She turned around to see Sakura coming up to him. She obviously wanted to know how everything had turned out.

"Hi, Sakura-chan."

"Hey, so can I congratulate the new couple for real this time. You guys are an item now aren't you? When is the wedding?" She gently teased.

Naruto didn't respond to her. The smile from her face started to fade, there was something wrong.

"Naruto?"

"You can't congratulate anyone Sakura-chan. Ino-chan and I aren't together."

"You're not."

"No, she didn't really want to listen to what I had to say. So we're not together." He said in a sad tone. "I don't know what to do right now."

Sakura walked over to her best friend. She saw that he was upset. The pink-haired teen wrapped her arms around him.

"It'll be okay Naruto."

"Yeah." He whispered.

She pulled away from their hug and gave him a brave smile.

"You'll figure it out Naruto, you always find a way."

"Thanks Sakura-chan."

The blond male stood there staring into space. Sakura wished that there was something she could say to make him feel better. She had to be able to do something for him.

"Are you going to be okay?" She wondered.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Alright." She nodded. "Well if you need to talk or anything, you know I'm around."

"Thanks a lot Sakura-chan, I appreciate it, bye."

"Bye."

The green-eyed teen continued on her way home. She really hoped that things would have worked out for the two of them. She didn't understand why Ino was being so stubborn. She must have had her reasons. Sakura felt the need to get down to the bottom of thins. She needed to help Naruto in anyway that she could. It was the least she could do. He was after all her very best friend, and he had always been a sort of support system for her.

"I'll get down to the bottom of things Naruto, I promise." She whispered to no one. "Look out Konoha, Haruno Sakura is on the job. Shannaro!" She shouted while thrusting her fist into the air.

**A/n : Okay so Sakura-chan is on the job lol. Hopefully I will see you all for the next chapter, don't know when I'll update this again but I will do my best to deliver as soon as I can. Until next time And don't forget to read and review. XD.**


	17. Emotions rushing to the surface

**A/N: Hey all I' am back with the next chapter. I hope everyone's enjoyed their Thanksgiving. Thanks again for all the reviews, you guys have really made this story very popular. I was never expecting it to get so many reviews. So thanks a lot. I would love to see this fic get 500 by the time it's done. But that of course is up to you my readers. Um, sorry this was so late but it couldn't be helped. I couldn't rush this chapter at all it was very delicate. So it needed to be written very well. I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. It shouldn't disappoint, at least I hope you all won't be disappointed anyway. After this chapter there are about two more I believe and then we will be done. Enjoy the ride please. Oh, this has nothing to do with anything but have any of you seen the latest Naruto chapter. I won't spoil it for anyone but WOW. That's all that can be said about that, if you've read it you know what I mean. Okay enough rambling on here is chapter 17.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

'What the hell did you do!" Tenten shouted out while pointing a finger at the pink-haired medic-nin.

Sakura stood there staring curiously at the brown-haired kunoichi. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Tenten.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Tenten-chan please calm down." Hinata spoke. "You haven't even given Sakura-chan the chance to speak yet."

The brown-eyed female took a breath.

"Okay." She nodded.

There were a few moments of silence before Tenten spoke again, stopping Sakura from speaking once more.

"Come on Sakura out with it, what did you do?" She repeated her question from earlier.

"Tenten, what are you talking about?"

The brunette put her hand to her hip and stared directly into those bewildered green orbs.

"Oh, so you have no idea what I'm talking about?"

"No I really don't know what you're talking about. If you calm down for a minute maybe you can explain it to me."

Tenten opened her mouth to speak but was immediately interrupted by a very enthusiastic voice.

"Tenten-chan!" Lee was now making his way over to the three kunoichi.

"Lee?"

The dark-haired male ran over to his girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug.

"Tenten-chan, I have missed you."

"Lee!" She screamed. "Put me down right now."

Lee turned slightly red from embarrassment. He placed the flustered brunette back down on the ground.

"Eh," He laughed. "I'm sorry Tenten-chan. I just haven't seen you for over a week. Just going a day without seeing your beautiful face makes me feel depressed. How can you expect me to be youthful without you?"

She couldn't stay mad at him. Her facial expression softened towards him.

"Oh Lee, you know that I can't stay angry with you." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Ugh.." Sakura sighed and slapped herself upside the forehead. "Not that I don't appreciate romance as much as the next girl, but can we please save this for another time."

"Right." Tenten nodded and pulled herself together. "Yeah, so as I was saying. I want to know what you did Sakura. I just saw Naruto and Ino not too long ago. Guess what, they weren't together. They did not look very happy at all. So what have you done?"

Sakura blinked again.

"Tenten I...."

"They both looked completely miserable."

"Hm." Lee nodded in agreement. "Tenten-chan is right. They were both behaving most unyouthful. I don't recall having seen either one of them looking so upset."

"Tenten I haven't seen Ino in awhile so I...."

"I know you had to have been involved Sakura. The last thing I remember you saying was that you wanted to ask Naruto something. You basically said you wanted to expose some sort of truth. The only conclusion I can come up with is that you somehow caused them to break-up."

It was the only thing that seemed to make any sense to the brown-haired female. Sakura must have somehow convinced Naruto to break off his relationship with the platinum blonde. Yes, it had to be the only logical explanation.

"What!" The pink-haired female shouted.

"I think I see how it must have happened." Tenten whispered.

* * *

**(Tenten's Daydream)**

_Tenten envisioned the happy blond couple sitting together holding hands. Naruto took his free hand and pushed her platinum blonde locks out of her face._

"_You are so beautiful Ino-chan." _

_She blushed heavily at his compliment._

"_Oh, Naruto-kun you are so sweet." She reached over to pull him into a tight embrace._

_Before long the blond duo was leaning in for a kiss when out of the bushes came the pink-haired medic-nin._

"_Ah-hah!" She pointed. "I finally found you two."_

"_Uh, Sakura-chan?" The blue-eyed male blinked in confusion._

"_Um, why are you dressed like that?" Ino asked._

_The green-eyed teen was wearing a long cape, pink tights, and had a red top with a bright red "S" on the front. Her face was also covered with a mask. You wouldn't have really been able to tell it was her if it weren't for her obvious pink locks. Sakura looked like some sort of super hero reject._

"_Never mind, my clothing is not of importance."_

"_Y-yeah." Ino laughed. "What did you do sew them in the dark. They look really bad."_

_Sakura frowned while the blonde girl continued laughing out loud._

"_Shut up Pig!"_

"_H-hey don't be upset with me Forehead just because I don't look as ridiculous as you."_

_Naruto decided that it was time for him to intervene._

"_Um Sakura-chan what's going on?"_

"_I'm really glad I found you Naruto, now we can talk. I need you to listen very carefully to me okay."_

_Naruto simply nodded._

"_What is it Sakura-chan?"_

"_Well for one thing I' am here to put a stop this madness. Naruto you and the pig over here are not right for each other. Its just all kinds of wrong. You can do so much better than her."_

_The blue-eyed female looked completely offended._

"_How dare you, you..."_

"_Shut it pig. I'm talking here. Naruto, you know what I'm telling you is true. Come on she's all wrong for you. You guys don't have anything in common. You'll only make each other miserable. I predict nothing but terrible things for this unholy union. Deep down you must realize it too. Now what is it going to take for you to wake up and smell the ramen, and ditch Ino-pig to the curb."_

_Ino grabbed Naruto's hand, clutching it tight within hers._

"_Let it go already forehead. Naruto-kun is with me now, and we're happier than ever. Aren't we?"_

_Naruto didn't answer her right away. Slowly he let her hand go._

"_Sakura-chan you are right."_

"_Huh?" Ino and Sakura spoke together._

"_I have seen the light." Naruto jumped up from where he was sitting. He then gave Sakura an appreciative smile. He then turned to face the platinum blonde._

"_Ino you have to admit Sakura-chan makes some pretty good points. We we're never really right for each other at all. You don't even like ramen, or the color orange. And you made fun of Gama-chan." He spoke about his frog wallet. "I can't let those things slide."_

_Ino blinked._

"_Naruto what are you saying?"_

"_I'm saying that it's over Ino. I'm going to listen to Sakura-chan's advice."  
_

_She stood up as well, rage written all over her pretty features. How dare he do this to her, after everything they had gone through._

"_Unbelievable! After everything I've done for you. I ate ramen for you for gods sake, that alone was cruel and unusual punishment. And now you are dumping me fore the pink blunder over there?"_

"_Hey!" Sakura spoke. "Don't be angry with me because Naruto finally woke up and saw the light."_

"_I'm sorry Ino, uh goodbye." He gave her a small smile and walked off with the pink-haired teen._

"_You asshole!" The platinum blonde screamed. "I will never forgive you for this Uzumaki Naruto."_

**(End)**

* * *

Sakura just looked completely stunned. Did the brunette have an overactive imagination or what?

"Ten, do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Alright." She agreed. "So maybe you weren't dressed in comic book hero fashion, but I know you had something to do with this. Sakura I can't believe you would be this way. I knew you were jealous but to actually destroy your two friend's happiness."

"Wait a minute." Sakura interrupted.

"No!" Tenten remained firm. "I never thought of you to be that type of person Sakura." She sighed. "I can't even look at you right now."

"Tenten you don't understand....."

Before she could say anymore the brown-haired kunoichi was gone.

"Tenten-chan, wait." Lee called out. "I' am sorry Sakura." The black-haired male spoke. "I will try to calm her down."

"Right." Hinata nodded. "Uh, sorry Sakura-chan. We'll talk to her." And with that the blue-haired teen ran after Lee.

A sad sigh escaped Sakura. One of her friends had pretty much called her a manipulative back-stabber. And in Tenten's eyes she was now responsible for the down fall of Konoha's favorite blond couple. As hurt as she felt at that moment, realization soon hit her hard.

"Wait, how am I responsible for breaking up a couple that never even existed in the first place?"

She didn't get the chance to explain to Tenten about the charade the two of them had been putting on. There had never been a real relationship for Ino and Naruto. But that wasn't important right now, talking with Tenten would have to wait. Right now she had more important issues to deal with.

"I need to talk to Ino." She decided.

She knew where Naruto stood and what his feelings were. But she really needed to get the other side of the story. Because there was always another side to each story. She would seek out the platinum blonde and not leave her alone until she gave all the details. She made her way to the Yamanaka household. In all honesty she was a little nervous about this upcoming conversation. She hoped it wouldn't turn ugly. The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene in front of Mr and Mrs. Yamanaka. But considering how both she and Ino could behave. She was more than sure that some words were bound to be said.

Fortunately for the pink-haired teen she would not have to wait until getting to the Yamanaka household. So if words were going to be said, they would be spoken out here in the open. She was about to walk by when she saw Shikamaru and Ino in what looked to be an intense conversation. They were sitting very close to one another. She couldn't help but notice that.

"Shikamaru, Ino?"

She ducked behind a tree to keep from being seen. She had no idea what they were talking about, but whatever it was it looked to be of importance. The platinum blonde put her hand to the dark-haired male's shoulder. Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"What?" She whispered.

It looked innocent enough. They were good friends, known each other since they were children due to their families. And they had been teammates for years. Despite knowing this information Sakura still couldn't help but to jump to some type of conclusion. They remained in conversation for awhile longer. Soon Ino stood up to leave with Shikamaru standing up as well. Sakura watched Ino smile for him. She whispered a few words and then hugged him tightly. The pink-haired teen fell back against the tree. Her eyes never leaving the two of them. It looked like she got her answer.

The reason why Ino had rejected Naruto was because of Shikamaru. She hated to jump to the wrong conclusion, but they looked so much like a couple right now. The way they seemed to be hugging a little too closely. Why did that hug seem to last just a few minutes too long?

"Oh Ino." She whispered. "How could you do this to Naruto? He really likes you. It's very real to him now."

Ino released Shikamaru from the hug. Sakura watched her smile warmly once more. She whispered what looked to be a goodbye and with that she was leaving. Sakura waited a little while before going after the platinum blonde. The pony-tailed male looked up to see the pink-haired girl walking. She was headed in the same direction Ino had left in. he didn't have a very good feeling about this.

"Sakura?" He whispered.

She turned back for a moment and looked at him. He stared back at her as well. She frowned slightly and then kept walking. No, he truly did not like the feeling he was getting right now. Should he go after Ino to make sure nothing happened? He thought about it for a moment. He then realized he shouldn't go after her. Whatever it is that was going to happen was not any of his business. Ino would need to handle this on her own. In fact he was more than sure she would be able to. The only thing he could do was to be there to listen to her after it was all over.

"She'll be okay." Shikamaru decided.

* * *

Sakura continued after the blue-eyed teen. Now that she knew the real reasons behind Ino's actions. She wouldn't let this go easily. She would confront the platinum blonde. Oh yeah, Ino would hear a mouthful from her. When the platinum blonde finally did come to a stop. She stood there for a moment with her back turned. She looked up, gazing into the afternoon sky. Sakura stood close by, only just arriving herself.

"You can stop following me now Sakura." Ino spoke. "Why don't you just come over already?"

She turned around and waited for the green-eyed girl to come over to her. Sakura came walking towards her friend. They stood feet away from each other. They weren't very far away from each other, but there was still a good amount of distance between them.

"Ino." Sakura whispered.

The two of them stood staring at each other, neither one of them looking away.

"So," Ino started. "What did you want?"

Sakura did not speak right away. She looked around for a moment. There was something sort of familiar about this place. She just couldn't put her finger on it right this moment.

"Are you going to talk or what Forehead? Or did you just want to follow me all day? I planned to do a little shopping and then go home to take a very hot bubble bath. I don't think you want to be there for that though, unless that sort of thing turns you on."

Sakura repressed the urge to hit or scream at the blonde. She needed to keep calm.

"That's not funny pig." She added the nickname in as well. "This is important. We need to talk."

"Alright then." Ino nodded. "Then why don't you get to talking so we can both get out of here. Since you did follow me all the way here, I'm guessing that it really must be important.

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "It is important"

Ino could think of a lot of other things she wanted to be doing right now. She didn't even really want to talk to the pink-haired teen. Sakura was one of the last people she wanted to have a conversation with.

"Alright then what do you want?"

A sigh escaped Sakura. She closed her eyes for a moment, swallowing the anger she was feeling towards the blonde.

"Ino you're my friend. I will always consider you a friend, you were my very first friend." Sakura added that part in a whisper.

The platinum blonde blinked in confusion. What was the point of this opening sequence.

"Hey Forehead, are you sick or something? Why the sudden trip down memory lane?"

"Friends are supposed to understand each other. They're supposed to be able to relate to choices and decisions that they both make. But....I don't understand this Ino."

"Understand what Sakura? What are you talking about?"

The green-eyed teen gripped her fist. So now Ino wanted to pretend like she had no idea what she was talking about. Like she hadn't realized that she had hurt Naruto. Did she even care?

"I'm talking about what you've done. Don't you realize how upset Naruto is over you? You rejected his feelings just so you could be with Shikamaru!" Sakura raised her voice.

Ino looked like she had suddenly gotten the wind knocked out of her.

"Did you even think about how he would feel? Did you even give him the chance to tell you how he felt? I can't believe you would do something like this Ino. That's what I can't understand. Do you even care at all about what you did?"

Ino swallowed and regained herself.

"What I did!" She shouted back. "I didn't do anything to Naruto. He should know why I didn't want to listen to what he had to say. And what the hell are you talking about saying I rejected him for Shikamaru?"

Sakura blinked twice. She took a second before she spoke again.

"I saw you Ino. I saw how close the two of you were. If you wanted to be with Shikamaru you should have just told Naruto that. Why even lead him on? But then again it was all a game for you right? The whole let's pretend to be a couple thing was your idea in the first place."

The platinum blonde was not surprised by the fact that Sakura knew about their little charade. She was very determined to get down to whatever it was they were hiding. More than likely though Naruto had probably told her the truth that day she had seen them on the Hokage Monument. She shuddered slightly from the bad memory.

"So you know about what we did. I'm not really surprised. But I won't have you yelling at me like this. I didn't do anything wrong except try to help a friend. You do know one of the reasons why we started the whole thing right? I'm sure you do."

Sakura only nodded, deciding not to comment any further.

"Shikamaru and I...." She started.

"You were with him Ino." Sakura cut her off. "Don't pretend that it was all innocent either.

Ino frowned.

"Yes we were talking so what, he's...."

Before she could finish though Sakura continued speaking.

"Just admit it already pig, you're with him. There's no reason to lie about it anymore."

That was it. She couldn't take it anymore. She shouldn't have to explain herself to the pink-haired teen, but right now she simply felt like she had to. Sakura had no right to accuse her this way.

"Shikamaru and I were talking about Asuma-sensei!" She shouted. "The anniversary of his death is coming up soon and I just needed someone to talk to."

Sakura looked suddenly sad. She knew how hard it been for Team 10 to loser their beloved sensei. She now felt badly for jumping down the platinum blonde's throat in the way she had.

"I shouldn't have to explain my relationship with Shika to you Forehead. You're going to believe what you want anyway so I'm not even going to bother." She stopped talking for a moment.

"Ino I'm...." She was about to say she was sorry only Ino spoke again.

"If anyone should explain anything its you and your relationship with Naruto!"

She paused. She hadn't meant to let that slip. Sakura stared into those upset aqua- colored orbs.

"Naruto and I," She started. "Ino I don't think you..." She turned away from the blonde female for a second.

"I shouldn't have said anything. It's not really my business what goes on between you and Naruto." Ino told her. "I don't even really want to know either way."

"Ino, really you've got it wrong."

Anger quickly flashed across her features. The last thing she needed was for Sakura to pretend that there wasn't anything between the two of them. She was not an idiot.

"Stop Forehead! Don't even bother lying about it. It's okay, really. I'm glad I didn't waste my time completely on that stupid plan, at least Naruto got the thing he wanted most out of it."

"Ino calm down it isn't....."

"I'm not stupid Sakura. I saw the two of you up on the Hokage Monument. The worst thing you could do is stand here and tell me that I didn't see the two of you together."

Realization hit the medic-nin. Ino hadn't rejected Naruto because she was already with Shikamaru. Ino didn't give him the chance to tell her how he truly felt because of her. Ino was under the wrong impression about the two of them. She was upset about what she had seen on the Hokage Monument. Which had been nothing more than two good friends in a conversation. But of course just like Sakura had done the platinum blonde had jumped to the wrong conclusion. The whole thing could be resolved simply.

"Alright." Sakura nodded. "We were up there."

"I know, I saw."

"But Ino I'm telling you it's really not what you were thinking. Nothing happened between Naruto and me."

"I don't believe you Forehead. You don't get it at all." She folded her arms and started to walk away. She had enough of their conversation.

"No, Ino you can't leave. We are not done here."

"I'm tired." Ino said simply. "I'm through talking Forehead."

Sakura knew the only way to make the platinum blonde stay was to provoke her. She needed to make her angry enough to stay.

"So that's it then. You're just going to walk away. You're going to give up and throw in the towel. You're just going to walk away from Naruto for good. You're being a coward Pig! And you call yourself a kunoichi."

The blue-eyed teen turned around quickly.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ino shouted. She ran up to slap Sakura across the face but stopped herself.

"Go ahead it it will make you feel better." Sakura spoke calmly. "But I won't hit you back Ino. I'm not going to let it come down to fists. I won't fight you."

Ino allowed a tear to stroll down her eyes.

"You don't get it Forehead, you don't have to fight me. I was the one that had to fight with you. I can't compete with you when it comes to Naruto. He has these feelings for you that I couldn't even begin to compete with. Knowing that hurts more than anything."

Sakura felt herself get teary-eyed as well. Only she wouldn't allow herself to cry at this moment.

"Ino." She whispered sadly.

"He'd choose you over any girl and you have to know that Sakura. No one would be able to come between feelings that strong. The bond you have with each other, it's not something me or any other girl could or would feel secure about."

Sakura slowly placed her hand to her friend's shoulder. So everything was coming to the surface now. Deep down despite her confidence Ino was completely insecure about this issue. It had obviously affected her more than Sakura first imagined. She never thought Ino of all people could be this way. But it just proved how human she was. Everyone had insecurities, fears, and other normal concerns in life.

"Ino you're right about one thing. I' am close to Naruto. How could I not be after everything that's happened with us. But you don't need to fight with me for him at all. Because you have you own connection with Naruto. You and he have your own bond now."

Ino shook her head while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Sakura you and I both know that you could have him at the drop of a hat. I refuse to throw myself into a situation with a guy who doesn't want me as much as I want him. I don't want to wake up one day and be left because he really wanted someone else. I will never be anyone's second choice."

Sakura allowed a sigh to escape her. Ino was determined alright. She was being completely stubborn. But there was something else happening here. Sakura could see that this was possibly turning into another Sasuke situation. She didn't want to have history repeat itself.

"Ino you need to listen to me okay. You can't let a little insecurity keep you from something that might be the best thing for you."

"What don't you understand Forehead. I'm not able to compete with you. I've already given up gracefully, why can't you just except it?"

"Ino am I really the only reason why you're doing this. I guess what I'm saying is that I do not want another Sasuke situation. So if you're also giving up because of what happened years ago."

The blue-eyed girl blinked, her eyes still misty from her tears.

"You think this is about that asshole. This is much bigger than a stupid little crush I had years ago. Naruto..." She started. "He means so much more to me than that meaningless little crush. He is is more important to me."She whispered.

Sakura began to realize just how deeply the blonde cared for him.

"_You love him don't you Ino?" _She whispered.

It was no wonder why she was so insecure. She had strong feelings for the whisker-faced boy. It wasn't a silly crush, this was much more than that. These were feelings Ino had probably never had before. Love could be a scary thing especially when you're falling in love for the first time. And why shouldn't the thought of the one you love being in love with someone else scare the hell out of you. Sakura began to understand everything completely.

"If Naruto really means as much to you as you say then why the hell are you giving up on him? I shouldn't even be an issue Ino. I should be the farthest thing from your mind actually. He really likes you Ino. I'm telling you the truth. And I do care about him too, I want him to be happy. He's my best friend Ino. I promise you that he's only my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ino backed away from the pink-haired teen.

"Sakura." She spoke quietly. "Please just leave it alone." She then turned to go, looking around at where they had been standing. She quickly realized where they were.

"Does this place seem familiar to you Forehead?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "It took me awhile to remember it's kind of strange isn't it."

"Yeah," Ino agreed. "Its funny how we had this sort of conversation right here at this place."

The wind blew Sakura's pink locks across her face.

"The place where we first ended our friendship." Sakura whispered.

"No." Ino shook her head. "This is the place where you ended our friendship. You walked away from me and left me standing here. It's my turn now, I'm only sorry I don't have anything to give back to you. I think I lost that ribbon. Oh well, goodbye Sakura."

She didn't wait for the medic-nin to say anything else. Sakura only watched until she was gone from sight.

"You are still my friend pig." She smiled sadly. "I will help you if its the last thing I do." She promised.

At least she knew how Ino really felt now. Both she and Naruto had the same exact feelings for one another. The only thing that seemed to be holding them back was Ino's obvious fear and insecurity. One they broke past that it was bound to be smooth sailing. Sakura would do this for her two friends. If she had to be the one to bring them together somehow she would do it. She needed to do this for her two closest friends. Especially since it was obvious the feeling was completely mutual and they wanted to be together.

A simple little issue like insecurity was not enough to back out of a relationship that looked like it was going to be a good thing.

"I guess I just have to do whatever I have to do." Sakura decided.

* * *

From there she headed straight to Naruto's house. He needed to hear the new-found information she had to tell him. If anyone had to be the one to convince Ino it would have to be him. Ino didn't want to listen to anything she had to say. So somehow Naruto had to get through to her. Sakura would do whatever she could to help. But she had the feeling Naruto would be the actual one to fix everything.

"_He can do it."_ She thought.

The green-eyed teen knocked on Naruto's apartment door. He soon came to the door, a little surprised to see her.

"Sakura-chan?" He spoke with surprise.

"Naruto we need to talk right away."

"Okay." The whisker-faced male nodded and let her in. He had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but nonetheless he would listen.

"Alright Naruto we don't have much time to waste. You have to get over to Ino-pig and...."

"It's okay Sakura-chan. You don't have to tell me anymore."

"Huh?" She wondered with confusion written all over her face. "Naruto, I don't know what you're talking about. But Ino she..."

"I already know Sakura-chan." He interrupted her.

She noticed a somewhat sad expression on Naruto's face.

"Hey what's wrong Naruto? Did something happen?"

A sigh escaped the blond male as he sat down by his window.

"I think I know why you're here Sakura-chan. You came to tell me about Ino and Shikamaru. I already know, I already saw them together." He added.

It was earlier when the blue-eyed male witnessed Shikamaru and Ino together. They looked to be very close while they sat talking with one another. He couldn't forget how she had hugged him. Sure it was only a hug and they were friends. But for some reason it felt like so much more to Naruto. He simply couldn't get the image of the two of them out of his mind. Sakura shook her head.

"Oh no Naruto, not you too. Look I jumped to the wrong conclusion as well. It's not like that between them."

Naruto just gazed out of his window. He didn't say anything for awhile. His silence worried the pink-haired girl.

"Naruto, Naruto say something?"

He gripped his fist slightly.

"Don't lie to me to spare my feelings Sakura-chan. I just wish she would have told me this before."

"Naruto you have to listen to me okay. I'm telling you that they are just friends. There's really a simple reason on why she treated you the way she did."

"Yeah, she didn't want to listen to me because she's with him now. All she had to do was say that."

"No." She shook her head. "She's scared Naruto. I don't think I've ever seen her act like this."

"Scared?" He whispered.

"Yes, she's insecure about being with you because...." She paused

At this Naruto let out a laugh interrupting the pink-haired teen.

"Ino isn't insecure about anything Sakura-chan. She just might be one of the most confident people I know. Stop saying things like that to try and make me feel better. I'm not going to waste my time anymore, especially not now."

It pained Sakura to hear him speak in such a way. She wondered if he was also behaving in such a defeatist attitude because of how harshly she had rejected him. Perhaps he didn't want history to repeat itself either.

"Naruto you can't give up. You can't throw in the towel, if you just let me explain."

"Sakura-chan just do me a favor and let it go. I'll be okay." He promised. "I want to be alone for awhile. How about we meet up for Ichiraku's later, my treat." He added with a brave smile.

What could she do? She had to respect his wishes. But she would give it another try.

"Naruto will you please just listen to me."

"I don't want to talk anymore Sakura-chan, so please go. We'll meet up later I promise."

He said no more and turned back around. She took it as a sign that she should probably just go.

"Fine, okay. You're just as stubborn as the pig is. You guys belong together I swear." She sighed. "But since you won't listen to me right now I'll go. It's not over though, its far from over." She promised. "Bye." She added.

He heard the door close behind her indicating she was no loner in his apartment. He then made himself a cup of instant ramen and sat down on his bed to eat. The image of Shikamaru's arms wrapped around Ino's waist stuck in his mind. He groaned in frustration and slammed the now empty cup of noodles on the table. There was soon another knock at his door, which grabbed his attention.

"Sakura-chan!" He shouted. "I thought I asked you to let it go...." He opened the door to see someone else. It was a person he really hadn't been expecting to see at all.

"Y-Yamanaka-san?" He questioned.

Inoichi Yamanaka himself stood there staring down at the teen.

"Hello Naruto is it alright if I come in?"

"Uh, sure wait a second please."

Naruto then dashed back inside of his apartment to quickly tidy the place up. Mr. Yamanaka may have never wanted to kill him, but there was still that initial sense of fear still lingering in the depths of Naruto's mind. It had to be the serious look in the older male's eyes. Or the face that the man seemed to exude a sort of presence that would naturally strike fear into the heart of any teen boy. Naruto assumed it was one of those things that couldn't be helped. Like his love for ramen or Tsunade's excessive gambling or drinking. It was just a natural thing. Maybe Inoichi couldn't help but to come of as a scary, intense person. Naruto soon came back to the front door.

"Okay Yamanaka-san you can come in now. If I had known you were coming I would have hired a maid to clean up or something." Naruto laughed, not at all serious about hiring someone to clean up his apartment.

"Yes." The sandy-blond male nodded as he eyed a suspicious looking pair of green boxers lying on Naruto's bed.

"Heh," Naruto let out a nervous laugh and quickly threw the boxers aside. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Inoichi nodded. "I' am just grateful I did not see anything strange. I'm sure you have hidden all the dirty things am I right son?" He teased, clearly joking with him.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Oh, wait I mean no." He shook his head. "There are no uh, dirty things here Mr. Yamanaka I promise."

Inoichi simply chuckled at the boy's nervous expression. He seemed to be on the verge of some sort of panic attack.

"Calm down son, I was only kidding. You need to learn how to relax better. You're too jumpy."

"Yeah, well Yamanaka san to be honest you do scare people."

Inoichi gave a slight nod. A frown suddenly spread across his face.

"I thought we were passed all of this already. I don't want to hurt you Naruto. I'm not lurking outside of your house with a kunai, just waiting to strike." Inoichi demonstrated the action which made Naruto jump back slightly. The idea of the possibility starting to scare the young man.

"Y-yeah of course not." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

Inoichi looked serious for a moment making Naruto wonder if there was something wrong.

"Mr. Yamanaka..." He began.

"Naruto there is a reason why I stopped by. I was hoping to talk with you, it's about my daughter."

Naruto nodded but did not say anything right away. The two of them sat down at the table. Naruto wasn't really surprised to hear Inoichi bring up Ino. He had to know a little something about what was going on.

"Mr. Yamanaka I don't know what you want me to say."

"Ino-chan has not been acting like herself lately. She has been," He paused. "Well to be honest she seems down right miserable these days. I think it has something to do with you Naruto. You don't come around much anymore. I suppose what I'm saying is that she was a lot happier when you were around. Could you tell me what happened? I' am just worried about her."

Naturally as her father he would be concerned with any change of behavior.

"Yamanaka-san, I don't know what's wrong with her. Did you try asking her?"

"She will not talk to me." Inoichi admitted. "She tells me that everything is fine but I know that she is lying. She won't even talk to her own mother."

"She wouldn't talk to me either sir. Maybe you should try asking Shikamaru. They're pretty close." He spoke with a hint of bitterness which didn't go unnoticed by the sandy-haired male.

"_So I' am right then, something did happen between the two of them." _He thought.

Inoichi took a moment to put his thoughts together. He didn't have all the details and maybe he really didn't need to know them. The one thing he knew for sure was that ever since Naruto stopped coming around his daughter's behavior changed drastically. He had never seen her have so much interest in a boy. Not even when she had a crush on that Uchiha kid.

"Naruto I don't need to know all the details if you don't want to tell me. The only thing I care about is my daughter's happiness. Anyone could see she was happy with you. Naruto you've sort of become a part of the family in a way. My wife adores you, so does Ino-chan. It's obvious to me that this is more than a silly crush to her. And me..." He paused. "Well I have a great respect for you son."

"Really?" Naruto spoke with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Mr. Yamanaka nodded. How could he not have a great respect for the whisker-faced male. Naruto had been through a hell of a lot for a person his age. Dealing with the fact that he had to be Kyuubi's container was a hell of a burden alone. And he had dealt with it so well. He was able to deal with so much, yet remained so strong. Inoichi respected determination, it was a most admired quality. If he had to choose someone for his daughter it would be someone like him. So, the boy seemed to be a nervous wreck around him. That was a minor issue they could always fix later.

"Yes. I honestly believe you are what's right for my daughter. But when it comes right down to it, whatever happens between the two of you is up to the both of you. I have a feeling though that you truly care for Ino-chan."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "Of course I do. I tried to tell her but she wouldn't listen to me."

Suddenly a small smile appeared on the older man's face.

"I thought so. The only thing I can say is if you can deal with everything you've gone through. I think you can easily deal with someone as stubborn as my princess. It's your choice in the end son. I should be going now it was nice to see you again Naruto. We do miss your presence around the house."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "It was nice to see you again Yamanaka-san."

"Inoichi." He stared. "Call me Inoichi son."

"Alright, Inoichi-san."

"Very well that'll do I guess. Goodbye for now Naruto. I hope you will take into consideration everything I said." And with that Mr. Yamanaka left the blue-eyed boy's apartment.

To have the approval of Inoichi made Naruto feel a sense of relief. He knew he had warmed up to him, and that Inoichi didn't actually want him dead. But to learn that Mr. Yamanaka actually had a great respect for him. It just made him feel like was truly appreciated by the Yamanaka family. It was always nice to feel appreciated by anyone, even more so when it was the girl you loved family who cared so much about you. Did he somehow have a permanent place in the Yamanaka family. He knew the only way to see this as his reality was to get through to the platinum blonde herself. Whether or not she listened to him was all on her. The only thing he could do was try. Naruto felt he had it in him to give it another try.

"_I hope I can get her away from Shikamaru long enough to talk to her." _He thought.

To him the pony-tailed male was an issue. Nonetheless he had to ignore it and talk to Ino again anyway. Things were still very much unresolved between them.

"We'll see what happens I guess."

* * *

Unfortunately for Naruto he would have something else to deal with before getting the chance to talk to the blue-eyed female. One day he and Sakura were entering the village. They had just returned from a last minute mission they had gone on together.

"The mission was a success." The green-eyed teen said with relief.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "I'm just glad it's over with."

"Yeah." She agreed.

She had wanted to ask the blond boy if had gotten the chance to talk to Ino at all before they left for their mission. Before she could ask him though Naruto ended up speaking up.

"Let's go report to Baa-chan now. There's something I want to do after this."

Sakura nodded and followed after her blue-eyed friend as he led the way to the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile the blonde-haired Hokage sat in her office gazing out of the window. Her mind weighing heavily on the decision she had made a while back. She had given a lot of thought to what she had decided to do. In no means had she taken any of it lightly. A sigh escaped her and she closed her eyes.

"Tsunade-sama." Shizune whispered.

The black-haired woman stood gazing at the back of the chair. She knew what the Hokage was thinking about. She would always get pretty quiet when she those thoughts on her mind.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?"

The hazel-eyed woman turned around in her chair. She looked up into Shizune's dark eyes. She gave a firm nod.

"Yes I've put it off long enough. I have made my choice. It's time." Before she could say anymore Naruto came bursting through the door with Sakura smiling nervously behind him.

"Hey Baa-chan!" He shouted and gave her a cheerful smile.

Sakura grabbed her friend, placing her hand over his mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was piss Tsunade off.

"Eh, sorry Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade simply nodded and to both the teenager's surprise she didn't yell or threaten Naruto in anyway. She seemed very calm, like there was something else on her mind. Something much more important.

"Hey Baa-chan are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine."

"Are you sure Baa-chan. I don't feel any lumps on my head." Naruto rubbed his head and let out a laugh.

"How was your mission?" The blonde-haired Hokage asked, completely ignoring the boy's statement.

"Oh, it went great." Naruto nodded, giving her the thumbs up. "But of course it did I was there right Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired teen rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"I'm glad you're mission was successful. Sakura, Shizune would you mind giving Naruto and I some time alone please?"

Sakura blinked and so did Naruto. What did she want to talk about with him that required just the two of them.

"Tsunade-shishou?"

"I take it that won't be a problem."

Sakura slowly nodded.

"It's okay Sakura-chan. I'll see you later alright." He promised.

"Okay then, bye Naruto, Tsunade-shishou." She added and then left the room with Shizune. She was sure Naruto would tell her about what happened later. Things were quiet for awhile in the Hokage's office.

"Naruto sit down okay."

"Uh, sure Baa-chan. It must be pretty important if you want to talk to me alone."

Tsunade nodded. She wanted to talk with him the young man alone. What she had to say was for his ears only. It would be up to him to decided how he was going to deal with the information she was about to tell him.

"How how have you been Naruto?" She decided to ask.

"I'm fine." He nodded. Only he was getting the feeling that she was intentionally trying to make small talk. If she had something important to say he would rather she just tell him.

"Baa-chan is there something wrong? Are you okay?" He wondered.

Was she hiding a secret of some sort? Was she maybe ill? And she didn't want anyone to know but him.

"Naruto..." She started.

'Oh my god you're in some sort of trouble aren't you?"

"Naruto please..."

"What did you do Baa-chan? Did you rack up a really high gambling debt that would take the rest of our natural lives to pay off? Did you go on some sort of rampage because there was no more sake?"

"Naruto calm down."

"You must have been completely drunk and made some bad choices. Don't worry Baa-chan I'll help you somehow." He promised.

A groan of frustration escaped the hazel-eyed woman. Leave it to Naruto to get carried away.

"Naruto I'm not in trouble okay. I appreciate your concern and your willingness to help me. But I promise you I'm okay."

'Oh," He sighed in relief. "Good I'm glad you almost had me really panicked for a minute Baa-chan."

"Yes I can see that. You were really worried about me huh." She gave him a small smile.

Naruto nodded. Tsunade was one of his important people. In many ways she really was like a grandmother to him. How could he not be concerned about her.

"Oh, come on Baa-chan you know I care." He grinned.

He didn't have to say anything else. She completely got the message.

"The feeling is mutual Naruto." She took a moment, gathering up her thoughts. "It's because I care so much that I'm going to tell you this. It is very important for you to learn the truth Naruto.

The whisker-faced male blinked. He literally felt the serious vice in the room. Whatever she was about to tell him would be important like she said. Naruto knew it was not the time for games.

"The truth." Naruto repeated.

"Yes I need to be the one to tell you this Naruto. I wish Jiraiya could have been the one..." She paused as she mentioned her late friend and teammate.

"Yeah." Naruto smiled sadly. "I miss Ero-sennin too Baa-chan."

"It's just not the same without him. And although he should have been the one to tell you the truth. I believe that the duty falls to me now. He was my dear friend I can do this for him."

"Okay." Naruto nodded. "The truth about what Baa-chan?"

She wasn't completely sure how he would react to the news. She couldn't think of the aftermath right now. The only thing that mattered was letting him know the truth.

"I thought about telling you for a long time. It wasn't an easy decision to make but you deserve to know the truth. It has been kept from you for far too long."

Naruto watched as the blonde-haired woman stood up to retrieve a brown-colored box. She placed it on her desk.

"What's with the box Baa-chan?" He wondered.

"There are some important items in here Naruto. It's yours but we'll get to that in a minute. What I' am about to tell you will affect you greatly. How you choose to handle the information will be in your hands. But no matter what just know that I am here for you." She promised.

Naruto didn't understand why was talking like this. He already knew he could count on her. She did not need to remind him of that.

"Baa-chan I know you're here for me. What's going on though, just tell me already?"

She nodded then reached into the box and pulled out a picture. She then handed it to the whisker-faced boy.

"Here, take a look at it."

He saw that it was a picture of the Yondaime.

"_The Yondaime?"_ He thought.

Only in the photo the 4th Hokage was not alone. Standing next to him was a pretty red-haired woman. Naruto was sure he had never seen her before. But in the picture the two of them looked very happy.

"Baa-chan why are you showing me a picture of the 4th Hokage and this woman?"

"Naruto don't you feel anything when you look at this picture? I told you everything in the box belongs to you. Naruto..."

"Baa-chan?" He whispered.

"Naruto this is a picture of your parents. Minato Namikaze, better known of course as the 4th Hokage and Uzumaki Kushina."

* * *

Meanwhile Ino had been on her way to see Tsunade as well. She wanted to make sure she had no surprise missions coming up for today. She had plans with Shikamaru and Chouji, plans that she did not want to see get interrupted because of any last minute surprises. She paused when she saw Sakura standing there.

"Ino?" Sakura spoke.

"Forehead." She responded.

"Are you on you're way to see Tsunade-shishou?"

"I was." Ino nodded.

"Can we talk for a minute please. I really need you to listen to me."

The platinum blonde did not speak for a minute.

"I don't know what else you have to say Sakura, but I honestly don't care right now. Today is an important day." She whispered.

Sakura only nodded, remembering it was the day of Asuma Sarutobi's death.

"Yeah." Sakura whispered. "I know."

"I have to go." Was the only thing Ino said before walking away.

* * *

Upstairs silence filled the air in the Hokage's office. Naruto was now standing up as he gazed down at the photo Tsunade gave to him.

"My-my parents?" He repeated in a low tone of voice.

"Yes these are your parents. Naruto I' am truly sorry it was kept from you for so long."

His eyes never left the photo. He was hunched over slightly, his hand gripped firmly on to the picture.

"The fourth Hokage...."

"Is your father, yes. And the woman with the red hair is Kushina Uzumaki your mother. She was a refugee from the now extinct hidden whirlpool village."

Naruto didn't know what to feel at this moment. He had so many different emotions spinning around inside of him. Anger, joy, happiness, sadness, frustration. So many different emotions to go through in a moment's time.

"Naruto I know it's a lot to take in. And it's probably hard for you to believe because it was held from you for so long. But please say something."

"You can't tell me this Baa-chan. How can you just tell me this out of nowhere? You..." He paused. "You have to be making this up. Yondaime is my father and she...." He stopped again. "She's my mother?"

She wasn't really surprised he would be in denial at first. It was a normal reaction. Actually she had anticipated something like this.

"Naruto I would never lie to you, especially not about something very important like this. Didn't you ever wonder about your parents? Didn't you ever think about the people who were your family? I know you had to have some sort of questions about them."

He felt some tears threatening to come down his eyes. But he wouldn't let them. Not here, not now in front of Tsunade. He couldn't let her see him break down. He clenched his fist, biting down on his bottom lip. Of course he had wondered but to actually hear this information now, was too much to handle. He needed to get out of here right this moment.

"I don't know what to say. This is.... this is just too much right now. I... I have to get out of here."

"Naruto! Wait!"

But the young man stormed out of her office, not completely noticing he still had the picture in his hand. Naruto ran out into the hallway, running into Ino.

"Naruto?" She whispered as she collided with the blond boy.

"Sorry." He managed to mutter without even really looking at her. She had seen him though. The look on his face and in his eyes told her that something big had just happened.

"Naruto?"

She watched as he quickly made his way out of the building. She took a few minutes before stepping into Tsunade's office.

Tsunade-sama?"

"Oh, Ino what brings you by?"

"I wanted to ask you something but never mind it. Um, what happened to Naruto? She couldn't help but be immediately concerned.

A sigh escaped the older woman.

"He just learned something that shouldn't have been kept from in the firs place. It's a lot to for him to process right now. I know he's going to need some space. But I really don't want him to be alone at this time."

Ino nodded. She could see it wasn't the time to bother Tsunade. She seemed to be very worried about Naruto. And in truth when she saw the look on his face. Ino had become concerned as well. She then bid farewell to her Hokage and left. Once outside she saw Sakura still standing there.

"Ino, did you see what happened? Why was Naruto so upset?"

Sakura had tried to talking to him only he didn't stop once. He didn't even turn around to look at her when she had called out to him.

"I don't know what actually happened." The blonde female asked.

"But you saw the look on his face right? Something is really wrong with him. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen. Ino you have to go after him."

"Me?" Ino whispered.

"Yes." Sakura nodded. "I don't care if you refuse to talk to him because you think that there's something going on between us. Naruto should not be alone right now. And I think he needs to be with you, in fact I know he does. You need to be the one to see how he's doing. I know you want to see him too Ino. You can't ignore the look on his face anymore than I can. Go to him!" Sakura said in a firm voice.

The platinum blonde knew Sakura was right. She was worried about the whisker-faced male. She did want to see him right now.

"Hm." Ino nodded.

"He went in that direction." Sakura pointed. "I hope you can find him."

"I'll try to talk to him."

With that Ino ran off in the direction of where the blond male had run off. She didn't understand why Sakura felt like she was going to be the one to get though to the blond boy. But nonetheless she would give it a try. After all she couldn't just forget what Naruto still meant to her.

"_Okay Naruto."_ She thought. "I'm on my way."

**A/N: Okay so its a wrap for this chapter. I hope you all have a kick-ass Christmas and a great New Years and I will see you all for the next chapter. Thanks and read and review plz.**


	18. Always only you, forever part 1

**A/n : Hey all. I' am so sorry that this so very late. But life had just become rather strange and difficult as of late. My apologies. I am back with this chapter. Which can be considered the last chapter, really. But there is still a little more to go. I worked really hard on it and I hope you enjoy. This chapter got way too long so I had to break it in two parts. Thanks again for all the love and reviews you have shown this story.**

**Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. No duh.**

* * *

Naruto didn't stop walking. He kept on moving with little intention to stop. The whisker-faced teen had so much on his mind, he couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.

"_Is this real, is this really happening?"_ He thought to himself.

Tsunade would never lie to him. The blonde-haired Hokage cared for him too much to be dishonest. This was much too important to lie about, so it had to be true.

"Baa-chan wouldn't lie but..."

He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. A part of him was still very much in shock about the entire ordeal. It wasn't everyday you find out that one of the greatest shinobi that ever came out of your village was your father. It was still so hard for him to believe but he knew it had to all be true. At this moment though he really didn't know what to do. His mind felt like it was going a thousand miles an hour. His thoughts were everywhere.

"_Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, you're parents." _He heard Tsunade's voice in his mind.

There were still so many different emotions running through him. He needed to clear his head and think, only he doubted he would be able to when all he could think about was what happened earlier. Tsunade sure chose a fine time to drop this bomb on him. Why did the blonde-haired Hokage choose now to spring this information on him. Sure he needed to know, more importantly he deserved to know.

But one thing Naruto didn't understand was why she hadn't told him sooner. She had plenty of time to tell him the truth. The young man's mind began to travel to Jiraiya. Jiraiya could have told him too. A part of him wished his former sensei had been the one to tell him. Since after all he had been very close to the Yondaime. He had been his teacher as well.

"_Ero-sennin._" He thought. "_You taught the 4th you had to have known about me. I..."_

Naturally all of his memories of the toad sage would come into play right now. He couldn't help but think of Jiraiya after learning the truth about his parents. There were so many stories and things the white-haired man could have told him.

"I just wish you were still here Ero-sennin. I guess I wish you could have told me about..." He paused when he realized he was not able to say who they were right now. Yes they were his parents but the words weren't coming. "Them." Naruto finished.

Finally the young man began to slow down when he came upon an all too familiar spot. He stood staring at the old swing that he used to sit at all the time during his academy years. This place definitely had memories. He could vividly remember sitting all alone at this swing. The blond teen stared at the swing for a minute. He didn't know what he was thinking, if he was even really thinking at all but he sat down, or at least he tried to. Almost immediately he fell on the ground. Naturally he wouldn't have been able to sit there now.

"Hm," A small smile crept on to his face. "I should have known better, can't sit there anymore."

Instead he just remained sitting on the ground underneath the tree. He found himself not wanting to leave just yet. He felt the urge to sit here for awhile. Naruto wanted to be alone right now. He needed to give himself enough time to process everything that happened.

"Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki...." He whispered.

* * *

Meanwhile another blonde had been in search of him. All she had to go on was that he had run off in this direction. Cod only knows where he could have disappeared. Ino still had the image of his face etched in his mind. Obviously something serious had happened in Tsunade's office.

"Naruto," She thought. "What's going on with you?"

She cared, no matter what she knew that she cared. Deep down she knew that even if Sakura hadn't told her to go after him she would have anyway. She needed to go see how he was doing. Ino knew that if the situation had been reversed he would have done the same for her.

"You would have come for me. I have to help if I can."

The look on his face and in his eyes still haunted her. She needed to find out why that was. Ino needed to be there for him.

"I need to be there for my..." She paused.

What could she say? They had been acquaintances that gradually turned into friends. Friends that had turned into something more. They had been closer than friends but never an official couple. And she knew what she felt for him was more than just simple friendship. She couldn't deny that even id she had tried.

"I have to be there for him." She finished. "I need to be there for Naruto."

The platinum-blonde came to a stop for a moment. She needed to find the whisker-faced male.

"Naruto where did you run off to? Is he up at the Hokage Monument again." She whispered to herself.

It was one of his favorite spots why couldn't there be a possibility of him being up there. She was almost considering going there when she spotted Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru?" She ran over to him.

"Oh hey Ino-chan." He gave her his familiar toothy grin.

"Hi." She managed to give him a smile as well. "Um Konohamaru you wouldn't have happened to have seen Naruto by any chance?"

The brown-haired boy nodded.

"Yeah I've seen Naruto-nii-chan."

"You did?" She was very hopeful.

"He was walking off really fast though and he was heading in the direction of the academy."

Ino suddenly grabbed him and kissed him on the forehead, causing the young man to blush heavily.

"You are a life-saver Konohamaru, thank you."

"S-Sure Ino-chan. I hope you find him."

"Right, thanks again. Bye Konohamaru." She said and went in the direction of the academy, hopefully he was still somewhere nearby.

"Well at least I have an idea where he is."

The blue-eyed female continued walking, not even bothering to stop for any reason. She had to get to him and she had to get there as soon as possible. She came up towards the academy, there was no one around, or so it had seemed.

"I don't see anyone."

She looked around for a second and was about to turn to leave when she noticed a head full of spiky-blond hair. There he was sitting underneath the tree near the old swing. She remembered how often he had sat there when they were younger.

"_Naruto?_" She thought sadly as she thought of his lonely childhood. He had always been alone when they were smaller.

"I wish I knew why back then so I could have...." She stopped. "Now was not the time to dwell on the past. They couldn't change it. The only thing now was to worry about the present. Naruto was sitting in what looked like a trance. His gaze was so intense as he focused on the ground.

"Naruto?" She whispered his name and began walking towards him. He didn't look up at her as she kept walking. The boy seemed so into his thoughts he probably hadn't even heard her footsteps. The pretty blonde stopped walking.

"Hey." She spoke.

Slowly Naruto looked up. Her aqua-colored pools met his almost lost-looking cerulean orbs. He was surprised to see her standing there, but his face didn't show it.

"_What is she doing here?"_ He wondered.

"Looks like I finally found you." She gave a warm smile.

* * *

A pony-tailed male sat with his back against a near-by tree. He had a certain feeling of uneasiness running though him. He had a feeling that something was about to happen.

"_I don't like this."_ Shikamaru thought.

His hand began to shake nervously as he began to reach for a cigarette. He had to have it so he could calm down.

"You know smoking is bad for your health." A voice said from behind him.

"Shit." He cursed and his eye twitched slightly. "Sakura," Shikamaru sighed. "Why are you sneaking up behind me?"

The pink-haired teen came up from behind the tree and stood in front of the lazy genius.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

"Hm." He snorted. "You didn't scare me. I just want to know what you wanted. Obviously you have something to say."

Sakura nodded. She was actually glad she saw Shikamaru sitting there. The green-eyed teen wanted to talk to him. Whether or not he was even interested he was involved in the whole Naruto and Ino drama. She felt like both she and Shikamaru were in the same boat. They were their best friends and very close to the situation. Sakura needed to see where his head was, just what was he thinking about. Besides at this time he happened to be the only one that she could discuss this with. None of their other friends were as close to the situation as they were, not only that but none of the others knew anything about what was going on.

Sakura knew that eventually they would have to be told, especially when people like Tenten were accusing her of being something she wasn't. But of course that would have to wait.

"Yeah I do have to talk to you. You don't mind do you?" She asked.

"What's going on Sakura?"

All the dark-haired male wanted to do was relax before meeting up with Ino and Chouji later. It seemed now that he would not get his wish. He decided he would just listen to whatever Sakura had to say.

"We need to talk about Ino and Naruto."

"_Of course."_ Shikamaru thought. "_What else could it have been about?"_

Shikamaru knew that whether Sakura had meant to or not she was deeply involved in their drama.

"No." Shikamaru started. "You aren't dragging me into this Sakura. Whatever you have going on with them is your problem."

Sakura frowned slightly yet she wasn't surprised by his words. This was more than likely too troublesome for him to deal with.

"_That lazy..." _She stopped herself from finishing those thoughts. "Shikamaru I hate to say this but you are involved. We're their best friends this is our problem too."

She had a point, he knew that. He was friends with both Naruto and Ino. She was no doubt the closest female friend he had. They were teammates and grieved over their sensei. Their fathers were good friends and had been teammates as well. So he would always be close to the platinum blonde. If something was bothering her he would know about it. He was involved, he already knew all the details. Shikamaru could see that he was stuck in this mess.

"_How troublesome." _

Now the question was what was on Sakura's mind. What did she want from him?

"Okay." Shikamaru nodded. "So we're involved, are we done here?" He asked in his usual lazy tone.

Sakura groaned this would probably not be easy.

"Shikamaru we have to do something."

"We don't have to do anything. Don't you think we should leave those two to handle their own drama."

The medic-nin held her mouth open for a minute. She didn't believe that he would say that. There was no way those two idiots could fix this problem with how stubborn they both were, an outer interference was needed to be the answer.

"Do you hear what you just said. We can't trust those two to fix this. They need us to help solve the issue."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to the pink-haired teen.

"And just what would be the problem Sakura? Why are you so dead set on fixing this _problem_?"

She became silent. Her silence was all he needed to confirm the truth. She looked away from his already knowing gaze. Did he have to look at her like that?

"It's..." She began. "I have to fix it Shikamaru. I'm really deeply involved, they're both my friends and I...."

"What?"

"It has a lot to do with me. I feel like it's mostly my fault." She admitted.

The pony-tailed male nodded. He was wondering when she would get to that little detail.

"Yeah you are involved Sakura. Ino was really upset because of you, listen I'm not saying that everything is your fault. But you do understand her feelings behind it right?"

The medic-nin gave a slight nod. At first she hadn't really understood but that was before she knew everything.

"Yes I understand. She wouldn't let me explain though. She completely has the wrong idea bout what's going on."

"Are you sure Sakura?" He had to ask. "You and Naruto are close, are you sure she's really just jumping to the wrong conclusion? It's why you feel so badly right because you know that Ino is insecure about your close relationship with him."

"She doesn't have to be." Sakura started.

"But she is." Shikamaru said. "He's liked you for a really long time, that can't make her feel good to know that."

Sakura felt as if some tears would come down her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was because of how much she was thinking of her role in this mess, or if it was Shikamaru's tone of voice. A lot of different emotions were running through her at this time.

"Yeah." She started in a cracked voice. "I know all of this Shikamaru, you don't have to remind me of any of it. I completely understand why she would feel insecure and lash out like she did. But she doesn't get it, you know how it started as a game; how none of it was real. Well it's real now, it's real for both of them. I saw it."

"So you don't have those feelings for Naruto?"

"No, that's what I tried to tell Ino but she was so stubborn. She just doesn't get that I'm not a threat to her. Naruto doesn't feel those kinds of feelings for me anymore. He's my best friend and all I want is his happiness. I want them both to be happy, its why I have to help."

There was something in her tone of voice that made him believe she was being completely honest. All she had to do was convince Ino of all of this.

"She was definitely really upset. She said something about seeing you guys up on the Hokage Monument. She had it in her head that you guys kissed. It really hurt her."

"She overreacted, nothing like that happened up there. Naruto and I were just coming to terms of our relationship and how we felt. We both decided we were only friends Shikamaru."

Green orbs were once again staring into his dull hazel eyes.

"_Oh boy here it comes." _he thought.

"Shikamaru I need your help. I don't think I will be able to do this on my own. I need your help because you are just as involved as I' am."

He closed his eyes for a minute and appeared to be in deep thought.

"_Maybe he's thinking of a plan."_ She assumed.

The boy was brilliant there was no denying it. Some sort of plan had to be formulating in that brain of his. She waited in anticipation for what his response was going to be.

"_Come on Shikamaru I know you've got some sort of strategy worked out."_

His bored hazel eyes opened.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"I can't help you." He started. "I...."

Sakura's eyes turned white and she looked as if her mouth would hit the floor at any second.

"What the hell do you mean you can't help me?"' She shouted. "What don't you understand about the fact that you are involved just as much as I' am. Is there a reason why you don't want to help me, maybe..." She stopped. "Maybe you don't want to help me because you don't want them to be together. Maybe your feelings for Ino are more than you want to admit. What exactly is it that you feel for her?"

* * *

Ino and Naruto stared at each other for a little while. She was really glad that she had found him. Naruto didn't bring himself to talk first.

"It looks like I finally found you."

He had no idea she was even looking for him in the first place. He had been in such a hurry he hadn't really been paying attention to anything else. Naruto did remember having bumped into her while leaving Tsunade's office.

"You kind of sent me on a wild goose chase for awhile, huh Naruto?"

The blue-eyed simply blinked. She couldn't have possibly come all this way because she wanted an apology for him bumping into her like that. It may not have been the best but he had said sorry.

"_Ino?"_

"You have people worried Naruto, the way you ran off like that it really made us worry about you. We couldn't just leave you alone out here when you're obviously upset. Can I sit?" She asked him.

"Okay." Naruto gave a slight nod but still didn't say anything.

She sat down besides him leaving a little bit of distance between them. She could see that there would be no words coming out of his mouth. He had yet to say anything.

"Do you want to start or should I?"

There was nothing but silence.

"Okay. Will you at least tell me what's wrong or will I have to get you a bowl of ramen to bribe you?"

She turned to look at him, expecting to see him smile a little at the mention of getting Ichiraku's. Ino found herself wanting to see him smile. She loved his smile and would rather see him happy than in the state he was currently in. A sigh escaped her.

"Okay I guess that ramen is out. Naruto...."

"Ino?" He finally spoke.

She blinked upon hearing his voice for the first time in what felt like a long time.

"Hey, so you are alive in there. Are you ready to talk now? Do you want to tell me what happened back in Tsunade-sama's office."

Naruto wasn't really sure where he should begin. He didn't really know how to put everything into words. A lot had happened in just a short time. His emotions were all over the place. So he ended up saying one of the first things that came to mind.

"I don't really know what you're doing here Ino."

He hadn't said it in a rude way by any means. If anything his tone of voice seemed distant and slightly confused. Not that she blamed hims for any confusion. The two of them weren't on good speaking terms right now, and the last time they had spoken she made it very clear that she didn't want to see him let alone talk to him.

"I can't be concerned?"

"You don't have to be. I'll...I'll be alright."

The platinum-blonde did not believe those words.

"Liar." She said. "You're not okay Naruto. I don't want to push you or upset you even more I just want to know what's wrong. But I can understand if you don't want to tell me. I can go if you want me to, if you want to tell me later I'll be around.

Ino decided that perhaps space was what Naruto needed. It didn't appear like he wanted to talk anyway."

"I'll go okay..."

She moved to get up but he suddenly put his hand to her arm, preventing her from leaving just yet. She stared at him with slight confusion. Did he want her to stay after all? Would he tell her the truth?

"No," Naruto started. "You don't have to go. I appreciate you being here." He told her honestly.

Despite whatever emotions he was battling within himself at this moment. He did appreciate the fact that she had come after him. It meant that she did in fact care. The blue-eyed female nodded and sat down once again. Truthfully this was where she needed to be, more importantly this was where she wanted to be.

"You don't have to thank me Naruto. I'm here to listen alright, so tell me what happened."

The whisker-faced male gave a slight nod. He was turned away from her a little as he kept his gaze elsewhere. Ino couldn't take her eyes off of him as she waited for him to speak.

"I'm sorry I just don't know where to start."

"It's okay, take your time." She told him.

"It's just a lot to really take in. I almost still can't grasp the fact that its true, that it happened. I guess I'm still trying to come to terms with what Baa-chan told me."

It was the most he had said the whole time she had been here. Ino was starting to doubt he would open up. It was good to see he wasn't completely dead in there, although his facial expression and tone of voice proved otherwise.

"What did she tell you Naruto?"

He closed his eyes for a second before re-opening them.

"You've never had something told you that would end up changing a lot of things for you, huh Ino..."

"I guess leaning about my brother's death changed the way I felt about things. I used to wonder how come I survived and he didn't, you know what made me so special? But no matter how many questions I had about it. I knew that there was nothing I could do to bring him back. The only thing I could do was live my life and make him proud of me. Naruto," She turned to face him. "Whatever Tsunade-sama said to you it doesn't..."

Before she could finish speaking he cut her off.

"It does. It changes everything for me. I won't really be able to look at things the same now Ino-chan." He gazed into her aqua-colored orbs.

"She told me about my parents."

The young woman blinked. This was extremely big news. It was no wonder why he was in the state that he was in. She understood completely why he had run off, for all his life Naruto had never known his parents. He never received the chance to be raised by the people who helped create him. He was now just learning about his family. Ino couldn't help but wonder why Tsunade decided to spring it on him now. Sure she most have had her reasons for doing so, but didn't she think he should have learned this a long time ago.

"Your parents." Ino repeated. "Tsunade-sama told you about who they were."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now. I'm sorry."

"I feel like I've just had the rug pulled out from underneath me. I feel sort of like I was the only one kept out of the loop, like this is all a big joke that everyone knew but me. I'm feeling a lot of different things." He began to explain.

The platinum-blonde nodded in understanding. She understood the point he was trying to make. How was he supposed to feel after not hearing the truth for so many years.

"Naruto this is really big news. It's a lot to handle hearing information about your family. I'm sure you must have wondered about them."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I used to wonder about what happened to them? Did they abandon me? Did they ever want me in the first place? No matter what they were both in the back of my mind somewhere. It's just strange now that I have the pictures to go with the image, it's hard to get used to still."

Ino ended up putting her hand to the young man's shoulder. He didn't flinch but felt the soft comforting touch.

"Naruto if you don't mind my asking who were they? Do you know what happened to them?"

He suddenly took the picture he realized he still hand and placed it on the ground in the middle of them.

"Here." He pointed. "Do you believe it Ino-chan. Yondaime was my father."

She stared at the picture for a few minutes.

"The fourth?"

"Yeah, I just found out that one of the greatest shinobi from our village is actually my father. I didn't really know if I could believe it or not, but Baa-chan wouldn't lie to me." That much he was sure of.

Ino took the picture in her hand and stared between him and the handsome fourth Hokage.

"You know it's not really so hard to believe."

"Hm?" He blinked.

"I mean, look at him. I don't know why none of us ever realized it before. The two of you look so much alike, especially now that you're older you two could pass off as twins even. Well, except the fact that he doesn't have these, huh?" She smiled and touched the markings on his cheek.

Naruto felt his cheeks flush slightly at the young woman's touch. He looked at the Yondaime once more. Ino was right, the resemblance was indeed there. The spiky blond-colored hair, blue-eyes, even the smile was similar. How could he have not seen it before. Then again it wasn't every day you were told you are actually the child of the Hokage. One of the greatest shinobi to ever come out of your village. Also Naruto never had a reason to believe he was connected to the 4th in such a way.

"Yeah I guess we do look a lot alike."

"Yeah, his hair is just a bit more wilder than yours and a little darker. But the resemblance is definitely there, no one can deny that. Hey," She laughed. "At least we know that you'll probably be just as handsome as he is the older you get."

Ino could see Naruto looking more and more like the Yondaime as he aged. If that was the case then it really wouldn't be able to stay a secret forever then. Everyone would be able to see that Naruto was his son. The resemblance would be so similar no one would be able to ignore it. The platinum-blonde then turned her attention to the red-haired woman standing besides the 4th.

"She's very pretty Naruto."

The whisker-faced male looked at his mother. He had glanced at the photo earlier but he hadn't really looked until now.

"Yeah she is."

"What's her name?"

"Uzumaki Kushina." Naruto answered. "She wasn't from our village though. Baa-chan said she was a refugee from whirlpool country. It's supposed to be gone now though."

Ino hen took the picture and gave it back to him.

"I'm sorry Naruto that you didn't get the chance to know them."

"Yeah, well we all know why that is." He spoke in a bitter tone.

She didn't say anything else but she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"It's okay to be upset."

"Upset." He repeated. "Hell yeah I'm upset, but it's not like I can change what happened all those years ago. What the hell am I supposed to do build a freaking time machine and make it so Kyuubi never attacked Konoha. No," He whispered. "I can't do that. I can't do anything to change the fact that they are both dead. I can't change that I'll never know them."

He turned to the picture and stared at his parents once more. This was the only picture he had of them. He would never have the chance to know them in person. Naruto would never have the chance to ask them any questions that a child would ask their parents. All he could think about was the many questions he had when he was a kid. The questions he wouldn't get the answers to.

"_I have so much to say to them. I don't even know where I would begin if I had the chance." _

"Naruto what are you thinking?" She asked him.

Naruto looked at the blond-haired Hokage. The man that was actually his father. There was something on his mind, a question he definitely couldn't ignore.

"It's just I don't know how to feel towards him. What do I feel for the man who sealed Kyuubi inside of me."

Of course it was normal for him to ask that. He must be experiencing a lot of different feelings right now. His father had been the one to seal the Kyuubi inside of him, thus changing his life forever. How was he supposed to feel.

"I don't know." Naruto started. "I should be proud right, that my father is the 4th Hokage. He was one of the best, but he also put this goddamn fox inside of me. Should I love him, hate him, respect him! I just don't know." He sighed.

"Naruto no one is going to tell you what you should feel. No one has the right to tell you how to feel right now. It's okay to feel whenever you feel. If you're angry you can be angry. If you're sad too then that's fine too. It's okay." She said to him in a comforting tone.

She wanted him to realize that he shouldn't feel bad for whatever feelings he had. No one would judge him at all. He was entitled to feel all of those emotions. She imagined it must have been hard to deal with at this time. Naruto closed his eyes and gripped his fist.

"Everything changed because of that day."

Ino put her hand to the young man's shoulder.

"Naruto I know it's hard now but I don't think the 4th sealed Kyuubi inside of you to hurt you. I don't think he did it out of malice. It must have been hard for him to have to make that choice, you're his son. He made a very difficult decision in order to save everyone. Naruto when you think about it you are a her, although not a lot of people treated you as one. I'm not saying you can't be upset just look at it from his point of view."

Naruto gave a slight nod. He could see the point she was trying to make.

"Yeah I guess you're right. He did what he felt was the right thing to do. He was the Hokage he had to protect the village."

"Yes but I'm sure it wasn't an easy choice for him, having to burden his son like that."

"Well," He sighed. "We'll never know its not like we can go ask him or anything. There's no point in dwelling on it."

"Yes there is. This is your life we're talking about Naruto."

"It doesn't matter." He spoke in a whisper.

She hated to hear him talk in such a way. This was not the Naruto she had come to know. Her Naruto would never speak like this. She understood that he wasn't himself. She just had to believe that he was in there somewhere.

"_I can't let you lose yourself Naruto. I wont let it happen."_

To his surprise the platinum-blonde suddenly grabbed him and pulled him towards her.

"You're wrong Naruto. It does matter, all of it matters. You can't pretend it doesn't affect you. It's okay to let it all out."

The blond male sat frozen with the blue-eyed girl holding him close.

"Ino?" He whispered and slowly put his arms around her waist.

"It's okay." She promised. "Everything will be okay."

* * *

A breeze blew through the air as Sakura stared down at the lazy genius. She hadn't meant to lose her cool. She probably shouldn't have made such an accusation, but her anger had gotten the better of her.

"Where the hell did that come from Sakura?"

Shikamaru kept his cool face on but he knew he would be needing a cigarette after this. The whole situation was bound to drive him crazy.

"Well, do you want to be with her. Is that why you don't want to help me?"

"My relationship with Ino has never been in question. It's always been yours with Naruto. Ino can't get over the idea of you two, especially since he had liked you for so long; and no one was really sure what you felt for him."

"You and Ino are close Shikamaru, just like Naruto and I. He thinks there is more to you guys than friendship. I jumped to the same conclusion myself. Am I wrong or right Shikamaru, what do you feel for her?"

He just wanted to sit back and watch the clouds. Why the hell did his day have to get shot to hell?

"I shouldn't have to explain my relationship with Ino to you. You know that we have always been nothing but friends, it's always been strictly platonic. We're practically like family she, Chouji, and I."

The pink-haired medic-nin nodded. He was right about that. They were all definitely more like family if nothing at all.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that."

"It's okay."

"But if you really don't have any romantic feelings for her, then why won't you help me Shikamaru."

"I just don't think we should get involved. Things like this have a way of blowing up in people's faces. I'm sure Ino gets that now after she saw how stupid this whole plan was."

"Yeah I agree it was definitely stupid, but at the same time it really brought those two closer together. Like I said they have real feelings for one another."

Sakura suddenly grabbed the pony-tailed male by his arm and pulled him up from the ground.

"Ouch! What the hell Sakura?"

"I'm sorry, but you have to come with me. They should be together now, let's go okay."

Shikamaru saw that there would be no getting out of this. She wanted him to go with her and it looked like he was definitely going.

"Hey Sakura do you even have a clue about where they are?" He decided to ask.

"Heh," She let out an uneasy laugh. "I don't have a clue. How hard can it be to find two blonds?"

"Unbelievable." Shikamaru sighed. "Will you at least let go of my arm."

She realized her grip was probably a little too tight. She wanted his help, not to break the poor guys arm. She ended up releasing him.

"Okay I'll let you go just don't run away."

"Yeah right." He snorted. "Like I'd be able to get away. You'd pro...."

She spotted something in the distance as they were nearing the academy. She silenced him by elbowing him in the stomach and pulling him behind the bushes.

"Fuck!" He groaned in pain. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I saw them, look." She pointed.

Shikamaru opened one eye and sat that Sakura was right, they were indeed nearby.

"Y-yeah but you didn't have to elbow me in the stomach."

"I didn't mean to Shikamaru, I'm sorry. I guess I sort of reacted too quickly. I didn't want them to see us. Let's just watch them for awhile and you'll see what I'm talking about."

"Fine." Shikamaru agreed with one hand on to his stomach. Sakura was too strong for her own good.

"_Damn I feel sorry for whoever marries her. She'll kill him before the honeymoon's over."_

Ino slowly released Naruto from the comforting embrace. It felt good to hold him that way. She was glad to be the one to help even if it was only a little. Naruto didn't give it words but he appreciated her being here. Her words and presence made him feel slightly better.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Somehow she wasn't sure if she should believe him. God only knows what he would do once she left him alone.

"Naruto are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure."

The two teens were staring into each other's eyes. Her aqua-colored orbs were filled with concern, while his cerulean pools seemed to be lost like he was still in some sort of daze.

"Naruto I just..." She started.

"Ino you don't have..."

Unable to finish their sentences or control themselves the two blond's leaned towards each other. Their lips were inches apart as they both felt their temperatures rising. They ended up going in for the kiss at the same time. This felt real, it felt good. She wanted to kiss him so badly she couldn't help herself. Naruto continued kissing her, showing no real signs of slowing down. He had wanted to kiss her too. He didn't want to stop it. If he could freeze time and make this moment last forever he would.

The kiss only intensified with each passing moment. She soon felt his tongue enter her mouth, causing her to let out a light moan into his mouth. She ended up wrapping her arms around his neck only deepening the kiss. God she wanted this, she wanted him more than anything. She couldn't deny it even if she wanted to, only she soon stopped.

"N-No..." She said in a breathy tone.

Her hand was pressed firmly around his neck and they were both looking down avoiding each other's gaze. It was almost as if they couldn't even look at each other at this moment.

"No, we can't."

A sigh escaped the blue-eyed male. It had to be too good to be true, of course the kiss had to end. Giving the current situation it probably wasn't even appropriate to begin with.

"Alright." Naruto nodded.

"I'm sorry." She apologized and slowly let him go.

She looked up into his eyes. They still had a hint of uncertainty in them. She hated the look he had in them. She would give anything to see the familiar bright glint in his beautiful blue eyes usually held.

"Listen I have to go. I'm meeting up with Shika..."

"_Of course you're going to see him." _Naruto thought almost bitterly.

"And Chouji today it's the anniversary of Asuma-sensei's death."

"Oh yeah." Naruto suddenly remembered.

It was an important day for the former team 10.

"I'm sorry Ino."

"Yeah, it's okay. We're not looking at it like a sad occasion. We're going to go eat some barbecue and I know Shika will light up a cigarette in his honor. I would too if I didn't find the idea disgusting." She tried to lighten the mood, but he knew she had to be sad on this day. It made him appreciate her being there for him more than ever, especially when she had her own pain to deal with today."

"I'm sure he would appreciate the thought."

"Yeah, he would." Ino agreed.

She stood up from the ground. Before she did leave she needed to know if he was truly going to be okay.

"Naruto what are you going to do?"

"I think I'll go see Baa-chan. I'm sure I really worried her when I ran out like that."

"Yeah I'm sure you did. You should probably go tell Sakura you're okay. She was worried too."

"If I see her I'll tell her. Ino thanks for talking to me, I'll be okay though."

"Are you sure?"

The whisker-faced male nodded his head as he tried to reassure her that he really was going to be fine.

"I promise you I'll be fine go and see Shikamaru and Chouji, it's an important day for you guys."

"Alright then." Although a part of her did want to stay here with him. He would need all the support he could get. But she would respect the fact that he would be okay, more than likely he probably wanted to be alone for awhile.

"Good luck with everything Naruto. I hope you really will be okay. I'm sure you will though, if anyone will bounce back it's you Uzumaki."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No problem. Take care okay, and if you do need to talk you can talk to me." She promised him.

"Thank you Ino."

"You're welcome Naruto, bye." She waved to him and casted him one more look before leaving him.

Naruto gave himself a few extra minutes before he left. Once they were sure the two blond's were gone from sight Shikamaru and Sakura came out from the bushes.

"Tell me you saw that." Sakura started. "You had to have been paying attention. Did you see how much they really care for each other? The kiss alone should be proof enough."

The lazy genius couldn't deny anything Sakura just said. Any fool would be able to see the obvious chemistry and attraction between the two of them. They wanted one another and they wanted one another badly.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I see what you were talking about. They definitely have real feelings for each other."

The pink-haired medic-nin was glad to see Shikamaru was finally seeing things her way. Maybe he would finally help her out. She turned to face him.

"So Shikamaru will you help me."

He did want this friends to be happy, and he remembered how upset Ino had been over this whole thing. If he could help he would.

"This could come back to bite us in the ass, but yeah I'll help."

"Thanks so much." She hugged him suddenly.

"Ouch, watch the stomach."

"Oh." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, will you be okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine. Do you want me to talk to Naruto or something?"

"You could try if you get the chance. But I doubt it will work, talking to them really won't work. They're both so freaking stubborn we're going to have to take some action. We'll figure it out."

"Fine." Shikamaru agreed. "I have to go anyway though. I'm sure you'll be in touch."

"You'll definitely hear from me." Sakura promised.

"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it." His voice held sarcasm.

Sakura bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to resist the urge to hit the young man into the next world.

"Yes I'm sure you will Shikamaru. I bet you're just counting down the days."

"You got it."

She sighed and clenched her fist tightly. She had to keep in control so she wouldn't hit him again.

"I'll just see you later okay Shikamaru."

"Okay, bye Sakura."

As the two teens were now going their separate ways the hazel-eyed male couldn't help but thing about how this would all go. How were they going to go about bringing Naruto and Ino together.

"I hope you have some type of plan Sakura."

* * *

Naruto was now standing outside of Tsunade's office. He felt a little nervous about going back in there. He had left in such an abrupt way it would probably be awkward for him to walk back in there. It didn't matter though he needed to hear what else the blonde-haired Hokage had to say. He took a deep breath before entering her office.

"Naruto?" Her voice held clear surprise. She honestly didn't think he would have come back here. It would be a lie if she said she wasn't worried about him.

"Hey Baa-chan."

"I'm glad you came back Naruto. I was very worried about you." She paused for a moment. "Are you okay?" Tsunade had to ask.

She knew that he was still reeling over the news about his parents, but she had to ask anyway.

"I'll be okay Baa-chan." It was the only thing he could think of to say to her.

He had to try and reassure of her of something. Only giving the look on her face she probably didn't really believe him.

"It's okay you know. You don't have to lie to me Naruto. I want for you to tell me how you're truly feeling."

Naruto looked away from her for a minute.

"I don't know what I'm feeling. I feel so many different things."

"It's understandable."

"Baa-chan why did you decide to tell me now? Were you ever going to tell me?"

'I've been questioning whether or not when the right time to tell you would be. I' am sorry to have sprung it on you so suddenly, but you deserved to know. So yes I would have eventually told you. I had always felt that Jiraiya should have been the one since he had been so close to Minato."

Naruto agreed.

"Yeah, Ero-sennin could have told me so many things about them. Hearing the truth made me a little upset with him for never telling me, but it also made me miss him even more."

The blonde-haired Hokage understood completely. There was no possible way she wouldn't be thinking of her friend and former teammate at a time like this.

"I miss him as well. Naruto don't hold it against him for not telling you himself. I'm sure he would have eventually told you when he thought you were ready. But for me I just needed you to know now they were your parents, your family."

She reached for the box and handed it to him.

"These are some of their things, you should have them. It belongs to you after all."

Naruto accepted the box from her but didn't look in right away, although a part of him wanted to. Perhaps once he was back home he would look through it.

"Thank you Baa-chan. It is nice to have some of their things I guess. I just wish I could have known them, or at least had the chance to talk to them. It's like I have so many questions that will never get answers now."

Tsunade stared at him with sad eyes. She truly hated to see him in such a way, but she had confidence that he would be okay. Naruto was and had always been a strong individual. He would get through this too.

"On top of that I also don't know what to feel about him. He's my father, the same man who had no choice but to seal Kyuubi in me. I don't know what to feel for him. I can't say that I love hi m but I don't hate him either, you know."

"Yes I know exactly what you're trying to say Naruto."

"He helped give me life and it does make me feel good to that such a great shinobi was my father. But Iruka-sensei, he's always been like a father figure to me. I can't just ignore that."

"And you shouldn't Naruto. There can be places in your heart for both of them. You won't be betraying either one. I'm glad you're talking about this, and I'm glad you came back here. What helped you decide to?" She wondered.

"Talking to Ino-chan helped." He admitted.

Tsunade was more than a little surprised to hear him say that. She had no idea they were on such friendly terms. Sure they were both friends with Sakura, so naturally they were aware of each other. Had they grown closer, this had been news to her.

"Yamanaka Ino?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "She found me and we spoke for awhile."

"Oh, well I'm glad she was there to help you Naruto, because I didn't want you to be alone at the time. But I didn't know you two were so close."

Naruto looked up.

"We...yeah, we're friends." He managed to say.

Only she caught the look in his eyes. There was obviously more to the story than that.

"Naruto are you.." She stopped, deciding that she shouldn't ask him about that right now. Perhaps it was not the right time. He had a lot on his mind as of late.

"You wanted to know if I like her Baa-chan?"

"Well now that you mention it, yes. I just never knew you two to socialize that much."

"We didn't really before. Anyway I'm not going to get into all the details now, but we did get closer and I..." He paused.

Tsunade waited in anticipation for him to answer.

"It's complicated. But the way I feel for her, I've never felt it before."

A small smile crept up on to the older woman's face.

"_It sounds like our little Naruto has fallen in love."_ She thought. _"Maybe she will be the one to help him through all of this."_

"I understand Naruto, believe me."

"I'm feeling a little better now Baa-chan, thank you. I'm going to go I need to just be alone for awhile."

"Alright." Tsunade nodded. "Naruto if you need anything don't hesitate to drop by."

"Thanks Baa-chan." He gave her a half-smile. "But I really will be okay."

"I know you will but just the same..."

"I appreciate it Baa-chan, bye." He waved and left Tsunade's office. He needed to go home so he could have this time to think and look through the box of items. As he was making his way home he spotted a head full of pink hair heading in his direction.

"Naruto?" Sakura called out to him.

She was very glad to see him right now. She just like Ino had been worried about him.

"Naruto are you okay? She asked as she ran over to her dearest friend.

"Hey Sakura-chan."

She immediately noticed the box he was carrying.

"What's in the box?"

"Just a few personal items."

"Oh." She nodded and decided not to ask about it any further. "Naruto you had me really worried earlier. Please tell me that you're okay now."

He wasn't sure what to say to her. He was doing slightly better that was for sure.

"I'll be okay Sakura-chan. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Yeah, you really did. Do you want to talk about it? What happened with Tsunade-shishou."

"She just told me something very important. I'm still trying to get used to it."

Sakura blinked a few times while trying to figure out what he was referring to.

"Naruto?"

"She um told me who my parents were." He decided to just tell her.

Her eyes widened and she suddenly hugged him. He had been told about his family after so long.

"Naruto, I...I don't know what to say. You must have so much on your mind. I'm..."

"It's okay Sakura-chan it was a lot for me to take in too. But I promise you I will be alright."

"Are you sure?" She asked as she let him go.

"Yeah, thanks for checking up on me."

"Of course you know I would have. If you need anything I'm here you know that right?"

"Yeah." He managed to give her a smile. "I know you're there for me. I just want to be alone for awhile okay."

"Yeah." She understood. "I'll give you some space but if you need to talk I'm here. Bye Naruto, take care."

"You too Sakura-chan. I'll see you around."

"Yes." She nodded. "Bye." She waved and watched the spiky-haired blond walk away. He didn't seem nearly as upset as she had seen him looking earlier.

"I knew having Ino there would help you. Okay," She pumped her first in her hand. "Shikamaru you and I have to bring those two together somehow."

* * *

Meanwhile the former team 10 were sitting together outside. They had just finished eating barbecue in honor of their former sensei. They decided that they would get together no matter what on this very important day. Soon Chouji stood up.

"Guys I have to go my father and I have another mission together."

"Oh, okay Chouji we understand." Ino nodded.

"Yeah we'll see you Chouji, be careful okay." Shikamaru told his best friend.

The light-brown haired male just gave his friends a warm smile and nodded.

"I will bye Shikamaru, Ino." He waved.

Before too long it was now only Shikamaru and Ino by themselves.

"Hey?" Shikamaru started. "Where are you right now?"

The platinum blonde turned to look at the pony-tailed male.

"What do you mean Shika?"

"I'm just wondering where your head is right now. Because it's not here with us."

"Are you saying that I didn't want to be here with you and Chouji today. You know how important today is for us. You guys are like my family Shika you know that."

Shikamaru nodded, of course he knew she had wanted to spend time with him and Chouji on the anniversary of Asuma's death. But that didn't mean she couldn't have thoughts elsewhere. Thoughts that were more thank likely with a certain whisker-faced blond boy.

"I know Ino but it's okay. I know you're thinking about Naruto right now. I saw the look in your eyes."

She didn't want to lie to him so she decided to remain silent for awhile. Although it wasn't like Shikamaru was completely off or anything. Naruto had definitely crossed her mind more than a few times since she had last seen him.

"Okay well maybe he was on my mind. He's going through something right now so I was worried."

"You don't have to apologize for thinking about him, neither I or Chouji, or Asuma for that matter would hold it against you if you wanted to be with him now."

She was quiet again as she thought back to earlier. It wasn't easy forgetting the look on Naruto's face and in his eyes.

"I saw him earlier. I think he wanted to be alone after we talked. I don't think I should go bothering him."

"What if he wants you to? Are you going to just leave him alone when you probably want to be with him right now anyway?"

"Shika," Ino let out a sigh.

"Well," He raised an eyebrow to her in question.

"It...It doesn't matter about that right now Shikamaru. He and aren't together so I can't be the one to go after him, especially if he probably wanted to be alone in the first place."

"Ino that's bull and you know it. So what if you're not an official couple. Does that change your feelings for him or his feelings for you?"

The platinum blonde could feel herself getting frustrated. All of her emotions she had been struggling with were trying to rush to the surface.

"Shika!" She raised her voice slightly. "Let it go, it doesn't matter anymore." She lied. She was lying because it did matter. Naruto would always matter to her. Shikamaru looked to see Ino standing up from her spot next to him.

"I-I have to go okay take an extra long puff of your cigarette to Asuma for me, alright?" She forced a smile and left him sitting there.

"Ino wait..."

"Only she did not stop at his call. The young man only sighed at her reaction. Sakura had indeed been right.

"It looks like you were right Sakura. I guess we're going to have to do what we have to do. Damn, I really hope this doesn't blow up in our faces."

* * *

That night Naruto slept next to the box that Tsunade had given him. He looked through it to see his mother's hitai-ate and also the one that belonged to his father. Some other various memento's and even the long white trench coat that Minato had taken to wearing. Naruto had even tried it on himself. He wasn't sure if he did it to feel closer to him, or if it was simply because it was a really cool-looking jacket. The young man turned over sharply in his sleep while he continued to dream.

* * *

_(Naruto's Dream)_

_The blond teen found himself in the Hokage's office. The chair was turned around so he couldn't see who was sitting there._

"_Um Baa-chan." He assumed it was Tsunade sitting there. "Why are you sitting like that?"_

_The chair turned and he looked to see someone who looked a lot like him. Blue eyes reflecting into his own, same wild blond hair just longer in length, and no whisker markings on his face._

"_Yondaime." He said in a whisper._

"_Hello son." The 4th Hokage acknowledged him._

_Naruto could form no words as the other blond-haired male came over to him. He stood in front of his son and put a firm hand to his shoulder._

"_My you've grown. How old are you now son?"_

"_17." Naruto mouthed._

"_17 years old, it's been 17 years since I've last laid eyes on you. Time has certainly passed."_

_Naruto turned away from the gaze of the 4th Hokage. Minato sighed a little, not that he blamed him._

"_Do you hate me Naruto? It's okay if you feel some resentment towards me. I wouldn't blame you for any negative feelings you may have."_

_Naruto took a moment to gather his thoughts before turning back to face his father._

"_I don't know what I feel for you. I don't hate you though. I'm just unable to say what I feel. I'm sorry."_

_Minato suddenly hugged his son, much to Naruto's surprise._

"_I have always wanted the chance to hug you Naruto. It is okay that you don't know how to describe your feelings for me. Just know that you are loved. You're mother and I were so excited about your arrival. We loved you before you were born and we always will. Although our time was cut so very short and our family was ripped apart. We have always loved you." He repeated._

_Naruto felt almost as if tears were going to come pouring down his eyes. He couldn't cry though, he wouldn't allow himself._

"_I just wish..." He stopped. "I wish I had the chance to know you and my mom. It's bullshit that we didn't get the time."_

_Minato let his son go and gave him a sad smile._

"_I' am sorry for having to burden you with being the Kyuubi's container. You must have had an especially hard time growing up. If there had been any other way I would have done it in an instant. But I' am very proud of the person you have become Naruto."_

_Naruto blinked._

"_Y-You're proud of me."_

"_Of course I' am." He nodded. "You have grown into such a strong, reliable, hard-working young man. I'm always going to be proud of you son. Both your mother and I.."_

_As Minato mentioned his mother Naruto felt a little misty-eyed while thinking of the red-haired woman he would never get the chance to know._

"_What's wrong Naruto?"_

"_Are you sure she would have been proud of me?"_

"_She loved you more than anything son. She..." He paused when he heard footsteps. There was his red-haired love walking towards him and their son. Minato smiled widely._

"_Kushina-chan you're here."_

_The whisker-faced teen turned around to see the woman with the long red hair._

"_Naruto." She whispered and wrapped him in a warm, loving hug. The kind of a hug a child would receive from it's mother. He was frozen for a moment but soon hugged her back. When the hug ended she pulled him away slightly so she could have a better look at him._

"_You've gotten so big and handsome, just like your father. It makes me feel so good to have a chance to see you like this as a young man."_

"_Mom?" It was all he could manage to say. _

_She wiped the tears out of her eyes._

"_I have wanted to hear you call me mom ever since I found out I was going to have you. Naruto you are never far from our hearts or our minds, even though we can't be together. It doesn't change how your father and I feel for you." She hugged him again._

"_We love you more than anything Naruto. You are our one and only son and nothing can change that."_

_Minato nodded and came over to his family. He wrapped his strong arms around the both of them._

"_We love you son and we will continue watching over you. We can't wait to see the man that you will become."_

"_We are so proud of you." Kushina left a kiss on his forehead._

"_Thank you." He whispered to the both of them. He truly needed to hear those words now. The family released from their group hug and once they did the dream had ended._

_(End dream)_

* * *

Naruto awoke almost instantly. It was almost light outside. The young man then remembered seeing a journal of some sort in the box. He picked it up to see it had the name Minato Namikaze written on the front. He didn't know what came over him but he opened the book and turned to a random page. It read:

_July. 7_

_Many months have passed since Kushina revealed to me that we were going to have a child. I, like any first time father was in completely nervous, but despite all the new fears, concerns, and responsibilities. I' am truly excited the arrival our first born as the days pass and Kushina's stomach grows with our child my nerves wash away, and all I can feel is happiness and the most unconditional love. Kushina and our child are my family. My most precious people. I will do everything in my power to keep them feeling loved, safe, and happy._

_P. S_

_I could have sworn I felt him kick at me the other day. There are no words to truly describe the new feeling._

* * *

Naruto then closed the book. He felt a sudden joy and happiness from reading Minato's journal entry.

"They did love me." He whispered.

He needed to be hear those words it was why he had been thankful for the dream. It had felt so real and he needed the chance to feel close to his parents even if it was simply a dream. Naruto knew he had been loved and not abandoned, knowing this gave him the strength he needed to keep going on and make his parents even prouder. He felt almost like he could do anything he set his mind too at this moment. Well, almost anything.

"If only I could get Ino-chan to come around."

It was funny how even now his mind would run to her. He wanted to be with her more than anything he knew that for sure. He remembered the kiss hey had shared earlier, that had to be worth giving it another shot. Because he truly couldn't imagine his life without her in it somehow. He would have to try again, unknowing to him he would not be alone in the final attempt. Naruto was going to have a little help.


	19. Always only you, forever part 2

**A/n: Alright so here is the second part of chapter 18. Enjoy, and don't forget to read and review. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

One afternoon Shikamaru and Sakura sat talking together. He had decided that he would help the medic-nin bring their two best friends together. They would achieve this goal no matter what. Shikamaru knew how determined Sakura was. She really wanted to bring Naruto and Ino together. He knew it had to be mainly because she felt partly responsible for the situation. And even if it might have been partly true there was no way she should have to talk all the blame.

Naruto and Ino should have talked everything out like young mature adults. Of course knowing them the way he did he wasn't surprised that it didn't happen. So if they had to be forced to talk then so be it.

"Sakura it's not your fault." Shikamaru said to her.

Once he said this the green-eyed teen looked over to him.

"Huh?"

"It's not your fault that they aren't together right now, so don't feel like it is okay." He tried to make her feel better.

"I just have to fix it you understand right?"

The hazel-eyed male nodded. He knew exactly what Sakura meant.

"We'll do it." He started. "We'll fix it, their our friends. It's our job to fix their mess right?"

Sakura gave him a warm smile. She was really glad he decided to help her out after all.

"Thanks Shikamaru you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"No problem like I said those two are our friends."

"Yeah." Sakura agreed. "I saw Naruto earlier and I asked him to meet me here. I think he should be in on the plan."

"I agree." Shikamaru nodded. "He has to be the one to convince Ino of the way he feels about her. He should be in on it."

"He still thinks you and Ino have something going on. So if he seems a little off to you then you know why."

"Then we'll just have to explain to him that he has it all wrong. He had to be the level-headed one right now, someone has to be.

Footsteps were heard as they both spotted a head full of spiky-blond hair. Naruto was now making his way towards them. He had no idea why Sakura wanted him to meet her here, but naturally he would show up. He saw that Sakura was not alone, sitting near her was Shikamaru. Naruto immediately began to wonder why that was. He would have assumed that Shikamaru would have been somewhere with Ino. He of course was glad that they weren't together, but it seemed odd for Sakura to be sitting with the lazy ninja.

"Naruto you're here."

"Yeah, hey Sakura-chan, Shikamaru." He added.

"Hey." Sakura gave a smile.

"Hey Naruto." Shikamaru replied.

The whisker-faced teen gave a nod. Things felt immediately awkward for everyone.

"_Um, okay."_

"_This is freaking weird."_

"_I hope Naruto doesn't do something stupid or crazy. How troublesome."_ Sakura thought. "Oh boy now I'm thinking like Shikamaru."

Sakura decided to try to ease some of the awkwardness.

"Naruto do you want to sit?"

"Sure." He nodded and sat down across from Sakura. She couldn't help but notice there was some good distance between him and Shikamaru. She was sure Shikamaru had noticed it too.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru spoke causing the blond to look in his direction. "You don't have anything to worry about. Ino and I aren't..."

"Its okay Shikamaru." Naruto cut him off. "You don't have to explain to me."

"But he does Naruto. You have to understand what's going on here okay." Sakura said.

The blue-eyed male didn't say anything. He decided to hear what the two of them had to say.

"Naruto I get it okay, but Ino and I are not together. She is just my friend. She always has been nothing but a good friend and teammate. You shouldn't feel threatened. You have nothing to worry about." He repeated.

Naruto still didn't say anything for awhile causing a sigh from Shikamaru and Sakura to become frustrated.

"Okay I see what I have to do. Shikamaru I'll handle this. Do me a favor go and get as many as the others you can and I'll meet you guys later okay."

"Hm." He nodded.

"If we can get this plan going today then we shouldn't waste anymore time."

Naruto just blinked in confusion, having no idea what the hell Sakura was even talking about. The pony-tailed male started walking away but looked back for a minute.

"Naruto, you know that I'm not the type of guy to back stab a friend. I wouldn't go after her when I know how you feel about her. That's all I wanted to say to you. I'll see you later okay Sakura. I hope that you can get through to him."

Sakura nodded and gave him a brave smile. She would do everything in her power and then some to get through to her best friend. It was up to her to do this, it was something only she could do right now. Naruto only sat there with a deeply confused look on his face. Things were getting stranger by the minute.

"Alright Naruto you're going to listen to me this time. I want you to really hear everything I have to say, so enough with the stubborn bullshit okay."

"Fine." He nodded.

"You're very wrong about Shikamaru and Ino. They are just friends just like you and me. I guess it's because of how close we are to each other, but you and Ino jumped to the wrong conclusions."

"Sakura-chan," He started. "I get it okay, you're just trying to help me."

"Yes I' am." She interrupted. "So let me help you. Haven't you ever wondered why Ino was so harsh with you. Didn't you want to know why seemed to rejecting you?"

"Yeah I did." He admitted.

He would often still think about why that was.

"To put it very simply she's insecure. She wanted to pull away from you before she got hurt." Sakura explained to him Ino's reason's behind everything.

A frown appeared on the blond boy's face.

"I would never hurt her Sakura-chan." He said in a firm tone.

"I know but she just doesn't believe that you're over me. She thinks you still have those old feelings you used to have. Ino treated you like she did because of that insecurity. It's because she's afraid you will choose me over her."

Realization slowly began to wash over the young man's face. It all made so much sense now. Everything was perfectly clear to him. Naruto stood up right away.

"So that's why she acted like she hated me. I have to go, I have to find her."

"Naruto wait a minute, there's something else. She saw us that day on the Hokage Monument. She thought you and I were kissing up there and it really hurt her. I don't think I've ever seen her so upset before."

"Oh." Naruto nodded and sat back down.

"So you see why she won't listen to anyone. She's being so stubborn we have to take drastic actions. Shikamaru and I have a plan."

Naruto nodded as he now understood why she and the lazy genius were together.

"But Shikamaru he..."

"No Naruto you can't think about Shikamaru and if he wants Ino. The only thing you need to focus on is getting through to her. It shouldn't even matter to you if he did like her. All that matters is your feelings for her and hers for you. So are you ready Naruto?"

There wasn't any hesitation in the young man's eyes as he gave a firm nod. He would accept whatever help Sakura had to offer, as long as it won him the girl he loved back.

"Yeah Sakura-chan I'm ready."

"Good." She smiled. "I was hoping to hear that, so here's the plan....."

* * *

Meanwhile Shikamaru had found Tenten, Lee, Hinata, and Kiba. He gathered them all up and waited for Sakura to join him here in front of the chunnin-exam stadium. The pony-tailed male was sitting on the ground leaning up against the wall. His eyes were closed as he reached for a cigarette.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten shouted in his ears.

Hazel eyes instantly popped open. He could see he was never going to catch a break until this whole mess was over.

"What!" He asked.

"Shikamaru why are we here? Why did you bring all of us here? What's going on?"

It was the question on all of their minds.

"We're waiting for Sakura."

A look of anger washed over the brown-haired female's face. Sakura was not someone she wanted to see right now. After all she was the cause of Konoha's favorite blond duo to breakup.

"Come on Lee let's go."

"But Tenten-chan?"

She glared at him and he swallowed his fear.

"Tenten-chan wait." Hinata spoke. "Maybe we should wait for Sakura-chan. It might be important."

Shikamaru gave a slight nod. He knew there was a reason why he liked Hinata.

"Thanks Hinata. I knew I liked you."

Kiba frowned immediately.

"Hey Nara watch it."

Hinata just ended up blushing slightly at Kiba's clear jealousy.

"It's okay Kiba-kun Shikamaru was just saying that I wasn't troublesome right?" She gave a warm smile.

The lazy genius nodded.

"Yeah, so you can calm down Kiba. Anyway just wait a little longer okay Tenten, Sakura will explain it all."

Lee had his hand on the brunette's shoulder. He gave her one of his best smiles in an effort to calm her down.

"Oh alright." She sighed. "I'll wait. This better be good though."

So the friends waited with patience for the medic-nin to show up. Well, everyone except for Tenten who was too busy pacing back and forth. Kiba started to feel a little dizzy from watching her.

"Will you cut it out already before you out a hole in the ground?" Kiba shouted.

"Shut up Kiba if I want to pace back and forth I'm sure as hell going to do it."

"Tenten-chan please calm down." Lee spoke.

"Yeah Kiba-kun please take it easy." Hinata said in her calming voice that immediately got through to the Inuzuka.

"Fine." He agreed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you Ten."

"It's okay." She nodded. "I guess we're a little frustrated. Shikamaru is she even coming?"

"She'll be here." He was positive of this.

A few minutes after he said this everyone looked up to see Sakura heading towards then.

"It's about time."

"I'm sorry I'm late everyone, thank you for finding some of our friends Shikamaru."

"Sure." He nodded. "Neji and Chouji weren't around so all I could find was these four."

"Hey." Tenten seemed offended. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Ten, he didn't mean to offend you alright. I asked him to gather whoever he could. I felt that you guys might help if you knew what was going on?

All eyes were on the pink-haired female.

"What's going on Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Well,...." She began. "It's about Naruto and Ino, they need our help."

"Are they okay, what happened?" Kiba wanted to know.

"Don't worry no one's hurt."

"Yeah maybe not physically." Tenten muttered.

Sakura looked up to meet the brunette's gaze. She obviously still blamed her for their so-called breakup.

"Tenten you shouldn't...." Shikamaru started.

"It's okay Shikamaru you don't have to defend me. Tenten I get why you're upset and it's not like it's not partly true. I' am involved in what happened with Naruto and Ino. But to blame everything on me it's not fair, especially when you don't have all the details."

Tenten blinked in confusion.

"What are you talking about Sakura?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I couldn't have broken up a couple who never existed in the first place."

Things became extremely quiet after Sakura dropped the bomb. Tenten looked completely stunned.

"What? I, um....you..." She spoke in broken sentences.

"Sakura you're sure about this." Kiba asked.

"Yeah."

"But how," Lee wondered. "They looked so much like a couple and they were so youthful together."

Tenten ignored the urge to cause him physical harm at this moment.

"They were just pretending." Sakura admitted. "They weren't really dating."

"Sakura-chan why would they do this?" Hinata asked.

"There are a lot of reasons, but they aren't really important right now. The only thing that matters is their feelings for one another. It's real now and they need a push from their friends to get them in the right direction."

Tenten finally let the shock disappear from her face.

"So you're saying they were faking it."

"Yeah."

"It looked so real though. I was rooting for them and Sakura..." She paused. "I blamed you. I thought it was all your fault. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. If you want you can help me and Shikamaru out with our plan."

Shikamaru turned to look at the pink-haired female.

"Sakura did you get Naruto in on it? Is he going to go along with everything?"

"There's nothing to worry about Shikamaru. I explained everything, he wants to be with her so he'll do whatever he has to do. So, guys will you help. We need to give this a shot."

"Well," Kiba started. "I don't get why those idiots started this whole mess, but sure I'll help. They're our friends."

"I want to help as well." The blue-haired female gave a warm smile.

"Tenten-chan I too wish to help." Lee spoke with a knew fire burning in his eyes.

Tenten just smiled at the black-haired male's enthusiasm.

"Of course, well if Lee is in you know I'm in. I'm a sucker for love I guess."

Sakura was so glad to see everyone banding together like this.

"Thanks a lot guys so here's the plan...." Sakura then went into details about what she and Shikamaru came up with.

"So you guys are all okay with this?" She asked when she finished.

"Yeah we got it." Kiba nodded.

"We're in Sakura you don't have to worry." Tenten promised.

"I knew I could count on you guys."

"We'll do our very best." Lee said and gave his nice-guy pose.

"Hm, I hope this works." Sakura whispered.

Shikamaru came over to him and placed his hand on to her shoulder.

'It'll be fine Sakura."

There was something in his tone of voice that made her believe him.

"Thanks Shikamaru."

Soon the friends were starting to leave to go their separate ways when Tenten pulled the pink-haired teen aside. She really needed to apologize to her.

"Hey Sakura."

"Yeah, what's up? You haven't changed your mind have you?"

"Oh no, I'm all for operation bring Ino and Naruto back together. I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. I shouldn't have thought all those things about you."

Sakura smiled for the brunette and hugged her friend.

"Thanks Ten, I'm just glad you aren't angry anymore."

"I should have known that you weren't the type of person to betray your friends. I mean, look at what you're trying to do for them."

"Those two belong together I'm sure of it. So I'm more than happy to help."

"Okay." Tenten agreed. "So are you ready for this Sakura?"

"You got it, everyone's ready I think." She glanced over to Shikamaru for a second. The young man had fallen asleep near the wall. Sakura let out a laugh.

"Well almost everyone."

Tenten looked between Sakura and the lazy dark-haired genius.

"Sakura." Tenten smiled. "You and Shikamaru aren't..."

"What?" She quickly cut the brunette off. "We are not involved. We are just two people who want to see our best friend's happy, that's it."

Tenten just chuckled lightly.

"Oh, okay as long as you're sure."

"I'm sure, now enough of that conversation. Our goal for today is helping Ino and Naruto."

"Yep. So Naruto knows what to do right?"

"Oh yeah." Sakura nodded. "He knows alright, this is too important to him. He wont screw it up."

"Alright well with that being said let the show begin."

"I'm ready let me go get the lazy-ass up. He needs to be awake to see this whole thing work out. Hey Nara wake up!" Sakura shouted.

Tenten let out another laugh. There seemed to be something there between those two, or at least she thought so anyway.

"_I wont be surprised if those two are Konoha's next favorite couple."_ She thought.

"Oi Shikamaru wake up." She shook him.

'Huh," He grumbled. "Troublesome woman I'm trying to sleep."

"Well sleep when you're dead mister. We've got things to do."

She helped the young man unknowing to them all eyes were watching.

"Do you think they like each other?"

"It is possible, stranger things have happened right Tenten-chan?" Lee questioned his girlfriend.

'Yes that's true. Who wants to bet that those two are the next to date?"

"Oh no." Kiba shook his head. "No more bets you guys remember what happened last time."

"Hey you guys?" Sakura waved. "Are you ready or what, we've got a few things to take care of."

"Right." The four nin's nodded. "We're coming."

Sakura had a lot of hope for this plan. It just had to work, she wanted, no she needed this to work.

"It should be okay as long as Ino isn't able to see any of this coming."

* * *

Meanwhile the platinum-blonde who was now officially the only one out of the loop was busy working in the flower shop. Well, she was supposed to be but naturally her mind had been elsewhere. Like usual her mind and thoughts were with a certain whisker-faced blond. She couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. In truth she was still pretty concerned about him.

"Ino-chan?" Her mother asked.

She didn't respond right away. Mrs. Yamanaka noticed the far-off look in her aqua-colored orbs.

"Ino-chan what's wrong?"

"Huh?" The younger female snapped back to reality. "Oh mom, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see that something is bothering you."

"I'm fine." Ino lied.

The older woman hugged her daughter in a loving embrace. She disliked to see her daughter upset.

"You're not fine dear. There is clearly something bothering you, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of Naruto-kun right now would you?"

Ino released herself from her mother's embrace and met her knowing gaze. As if it probably weren't already obvious enough.

"How did you...." She began. "I wasn't really thinking of him." She lied again.

"Ino-chan?" Her mother frowned slightly. "You should know by now that you can't lie to me. I' am your mother so I know you better than anyone."

The blue-eyed teen gave a firm nod. She wasn't surprised that her mother could see right through her.

"I was thinking about Naruto. I'm just worried about him, he's going through a lot right now."

"Is he okay?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen him for awhile."

"Then why aren't you with him Ino-chan? You should know how much he cares for you by now. If you were in his situation he would be with you right now, and I think deep down you know that."

Ino wanted to respond but before she could Sakura ended up walking into the shop.

"Forehead?" She was very surprised.

"Hi Ino, are you busy now. I was hoping we could go somewhere to talk."

Ino wasn't really sure what the two of the had left to talk about. She was pretty sure that they had nothing left to say.

"Actually I'm working...."

"No she isn't." Her mother quickly spoke. "Ino-chan why don't you go with Sakura-chan. You need to get out of the house anyway."

The next thing she knew her mother was pushing her towards the door.

'But mom..."

"No buts dear, go on. Maybe you'll do what I suggested earlier. Bye sweetheart." And just like that Ino found herself locked outside of the flower shop.

"Mom!" She screamed. "Mom this isn't funny let me back in."

Sakura kept a straight face but on the inside she was laughing at Ino's childish display.

"I don't think she's going to let you back in."

Ino turned to face the pink-haired teen.

"Sakura what do you want?"

"I told you I want to talk. Come on let's go okay."

She was hesitant at first but soon followed after the green-eyed teen. Ino found that they had stopped walking when they came towards the former team seven's training grounds.

"What do you want to talk about Sakura?"

"I think you already know."

"Look if this has anything to do with Naruto. I....."

"It has everything to do with Naruto."

Ino blinked a few times before she spoke.

"Is he okay?" Ino asked. "I haven't seen him since that day so I'm not really sure how he's doing."

"I know about what happened in Tsunade-shishou's office." Sakura started. "I can't believe he knows who is parents are now."

"Yeah, he was so different when we spoke. I wasn't sure how to help him." Ino still felt like she didn't do enough that day. Was there something else she could have done or said to help him.

"You're being there for him helped a lot Ino. I told you that he needed you."

The platinum-blonde avoided the gaze of Sakura.

'Sakura why are you doing this? He and I are just friends , you know how much he really likes you."

"Liar." Sakura interrupted. "It's more than friendship and you know it. He doesn't like me that way anymore Ino and I'm not going to steal him away from you. Why don't you get that?"

She was about to speak when something distracted both girls.

"Oh..." A pained groan was heard.

'Oh my god Lee." Tenten's voice was heard next and she sounded very worried.

"Damn it, it hurts."

"Just hold on Kiba-kun."

Sakura and Ino exchanged looks with one another.

"That was Lee and Kiba." Ino started.

"Yeah and they sound like their really hurt."

"Let's go."

The two teens ran off in the direction of where they heard the voices. If they're friends were in trouble of course they would help. Ino was the first to arrive she saw Tenten holding a wounded Lee in her arms, and Hinata with a hurt Kiba by her side. Tenten and Hinata as well had some cuts and scars but they didn't look as hurt as either Lee or Kiba.

"Guys what happened?" Ino asked first with Sakura coming up behind Ino a few moments later.

'We we're ambushed." Kiba spoke with one eye opened.

Sakura went over to the brown-haired male.

"Kiba it's going to be okay. Ino and I are here."

"Ouch." Lee groaned again.

"Lee-kun don't strain yourself."

Ino was about to go heal the dark-haired boy when Kiba interrupted.

"Someone has to..." He swallowed. "Someone has to go to Naruto."

As soon as Ino heard Naruto's name a look of horror washed over her face.

"N-Naruto?"

"Yeah we're attacked. Naruto took them all on and made us leave."

"He could be really hurt." Hinata spoke. "Naruto-kun was so brave."

"Yeah." Tenten nodded sadly. "He was amazingly brave."

Lee tried to get up but Tenten held him close to her.

'Try not to move so much Lee." She was very worried.

Sakura was now tending to Kiba but looked over to Ino.

"Ino I can handle things here. Please go find Naruto and help."

She did not need to be told twice of course she would go help him.

'Which way Kiba?"

"That way, hurry okay Ino." The brown-haired male spoke.

"Alright, take care of them okay Sakura. I'll find him." She ran of in the direction Kiba had pointed. Once she was gone Lee and Kiba stood up from the ground.

'Good job guys." Sakura gave them the thumbs up.

"Yeah." Tenten laughed. "We did a real good job on those injuries huh. You guys looked like hell."

"I feel bad for deceiving Ino-chan though." Hinata spoke. "Should we have really gone so far?"

"It's for a good cause so it'll be okay Hinata. Where's Shikamaru?"

"Right here." The lazy male said and came up from behind the bushes.

"Good you're here."

"You knew I would be here. She went after him, huh?"

"Yeah I knew that she would."

'Come on guys we need to go too so we can see exactly what happens." Kiba said.

The friends nodded and headed off after the platinum-blonde. Of course they would have to stay well hidden so she wouldn't see them.

"I hope this works Sakura." Tenten called out to her.

"So do I believe me, so do I." She repeated.

* * *

Ino kept on running, having no intention of stopping until she found him.

"Naruto what the hell were you thinking?"

She wasn't surprised by his actions. Naruto was the kind of guy who would sacrifice all for the people he cared about. She stopped for a minute when she saw a head full of blond hair up ahead.

"Naruto!"

She started running again until she came up to a tree. The blond male was leaned up against the tree. He had his arm wrapped around himself and there was a trail of blood running down his lips.

"Naruto?" She fell to her knees in front of him.

He looked so still and lifeless. The young woman put her hand to his cheek.

"Naruto you idiot!" She screamed at him.

Before even she realized it she wrapped her arms around him.

"Why? Look at how hurt you are. Why did you let this happen to yourself? Are you trying to get killed? Is that what you want?"

He didn't respond and she wasn't really expecting him to. She wasn't aware of too much of anything at this moment. All she was Naruto in bad shape, nothing else mattered.

"I want you to open your eyes Naruto, look at me and tell me that you're okay. I need for you to be okay. You don't even..." She paused. "You don't even really know how much I..." "She stopped again. "How much I love you." She whispered to him.

Suddenly a poof sound was heard and the clone she had been holding on to disappeared.

"Huh?" She spoke with fresh tears in her eyes.

Out of the trees she saw Naruto heading towards her.

"Naruto?"

"Hey Ino-chan." He gave a small smile.

Realization hit her hard as she knew for sure that this had been a trick. She had been deceived. She stood up from the ground.

'Naruto?" She repeated his name.

"Yeah?"

She suddenly ran over to him and slapped him across the face.

"Ouch." He shouted out and grabbed his cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"Why the hell did you trick me like that? You jerk, how could you do that to me?" She demanded.

He knew she was upset but he also heard the worry and concern in her voice. She showed her true feelings just now. There was no way she could lie about anything.

"You were really worried huh?"

"You know that I was."

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "But I'm okay. I'm not hurt alright, there's nothing to worry about. Everything is fine." He promised as he pulled her into a hug. He hadn't wanted her to become distraught over Sakura and Shikamaru's plan, but of course she would be upset about being lied to.

"You jerk." She screamed at him and pushed him away. "I was scared out of my mind for you and this was all a trick. So then Kiba and Lee..."

"They weren't really injured."

"So everyone was in on this then. I bet this was all forehead's idea. I'll kill her."

Unknowing to Ino Sakura and the others were nearby watching from a good location.

'Oh yeah she's pissed." Kiba nodded.

"I knew it." Shikamaru spoke. "Sakura she's going to kill you."

"Yeah I know." Sakura agreed. "But if it means they're together in the end then I'll deal with whatever happens."

"Let's just keep watching." Tenten interrupted with her eyes not leaving the two blond's.

Naruto saw that Ino was about to walk away. He couldn't let that happen.

"Don't be mad at them Ino-chan?"

"How can I not be? This was a really cruel joke to play, I thought that you weren't going to wake up Naruto. You had no idea how scared I was."

"I'm fine Ino."

"Yeah I can see that, but it just looked...." She paused.

"It wasn't meant to be a joke. Sakura just wanted to help, she did this to help us."

Ino seemed confused when he said this. How on earth did Sakura think that this would help anyone?

"Forehead wanted to help us, why?"

"Ino it's okay. You don't have to hide it anymore. I know why you were so angry with me before. You think that I want to be with Sakura-chan right?" he asked her straight out.

Naruto wasn't going to beat around the bush any longer. He wanted everything to be out in the open.

"Naruto I..."

"It's true though right. You were upset because of my friendship with Sakura-chan."

'I know that you liked her for a long time. I just knew that I didn't have what it took to compete with her. So I just decided I would get as far away so I wouldn't get hurt. I want you to be happy Naruto and if she makes you happy then I'll deal with my own pain."

Naruto stared at her with sad eyes. This was the first time she had actually told him about her fear. He saw just how deep the insecurity was. Sakura had been right all along. He hated to see her feeling like this.

"You don't need to worry about my friendship with Sakura. Ino, what I feel for you is different from my feelings for her. Everything with you feels different. I like the way I feel when I'm with you."

She looked up to meet his gaze.

"Sakura-chan just wanted to help you realize what I meant to you, so that you would come and get instead of just pretending you were okay with all of this."

Ino noticed the amount of space between the two of them. Something about it felt so wrong. She disliked the distance. It gave her such a miserable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I hated how insecure I had become. I was so jealous Naruto, I've never felt more jealousy over anything in my entire life. I don't ever want to feel like that again. It's not a very good feeling."

He nodded in understanding because he got it. He understood completely where she was coming from.

"You won't feel like that ever again, I promise."

"Can you really promise me that Naruto. I don't want you to be with me and one day wake up it and decide I was your second choice. I don't want you to think of me the mistake you made. I can't handle it. It would crush me to have you choose Sakura or anyone else for that matter. I can't." She repeated.

He was now standing there with a serious look on his face.

"I won't let that happen Ino, you have my word. I'm not going to ever do something like that to you."

"You can't know what's going to happen Naruto. You can't predict the future. We don't know how you'll feel in time. You could just one day decide that Sakura was the one you wanted this whole time, and then I..." She paused. "I will be tossed aside like yesterdays garbage!"

He flinched as he heard how upset and hurt she was. It was ringing clear in her voice that she was in pain. He had to show her how serious he was.

"You're right we can't predict the future. We don't know what the hell is going to happen. Ino-chan the only thing I can offer you is my word. My word and the fact that I want to be with you and only you. Why can't you see that? It's not fair for me to be the only one fighting for us. You need to be there fighting right alongside me. Can't you see how hard I'm fighting just to prove to you how much I want you?"

Ino found herself clinging on to Naruto's every word. He seemed so serious right now. She literally felt the power of his words. She felt like she could trust and believe him. She didn't say anything, so he walked over to her. He leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. Ino found that she could do nothing to fight this. He placed his hand to her cheek and deepened the lip-lock. She was a little tense at first but soon found herself relaxing into it more. Naruto felt her kissing him back. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He soon pulled away.

"Tell me that you feel nothing from that? Tell me that you didn't feel a thing Ino-chan. If you can tell me that with a straight face then I will know that I mean nothing to you."

She said nothing to him, but the way she kissed him back was all the proof he needed.

"You can't say it can you?"

There was still that deafening silence in the air. A sigh soon escaped the blond male.

"I could see you not wanting to fight for us because of something important, like if you were worried about Kyuubi, or if your parents were against us. But if you're going to let something like insecurity destroy us then what's the point. I won't fight anymore, especially if you don't want to. I won't be the only one fighting."

"Is he really giving up?" Sakura wondered out loud.

"He sounds pretty serious." Kiba noticed.

"But it's Naruto you guys. He would never give up like this." Tenten looked visibly sad for the two blond's.

There wasn't anyone who hadn't been paying attention. Every single pair of eyes were on Naruto and Ino. Naruto's eyes never left the platinum-blonde. He was focused on her and only her. He didn't really want to have to say this, but right now he saw no other option.

"Goodbye Ino-chan, goodbye for good. It has to be this way. Maybe we really don't fit with one another after all.'

He started to walk away but then turned back around.

"Sakura-chan didn't come between us, she wouldn't have come between you and me. The person that came between us was you." He told her. "I won't bother you anymore okay." And with that he turned to go.

"Oh no, he's walking away say something Ino-pig!"

The blue-eyed female felt every word he said. How could she not be affected by any of it. The only thing she knew now was that she couldn't let him leave. He couldn't just walk out of her life like this. She wasn't going to allow it. She gripped her fist and gathered up all of her courage. She could not let him walk away from her, from them. He was right she needed to fight as well.

"Naruto wait?"

Only he didn't stop right away.

"Naruto please wait."

He stopped and slowly turned back around.

"I don't know what to say besides the truth."

She still had her fist gripped tightly.

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you that I love you more than anything, and that it's driving me crazy not to be with you because that's true. Do you want me to say that you're on my mind constantly and I can't think of anything else but being with you, because it's true. It's all true. I can't stand not being with you Naruto. I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone."

His eyes never left her again. He wanted to hear her pour her heart out to him like this. Naruto wanted to hear her confirm what he already felt from earlier. The blond teen was actually a little surprised that she had come around.

"I've never felt anything like this before. It's more than some stupid, silly little crush. It's much deeper, much more intense. And I guess those feelings had me scared a little. But I won't be afraid of anything any longer."

She suddenly ran to him and he immediately caught her in his arms. This felt nice, to hold her like this.

"We don't know the future but I do know that I can't not be with you. I need to be with you. I want to be by your side for as long as I possibly can. I don't want to take another single second for granted. I've wasted too much time already. I won't waste anymore."

"Ino-chan?" He whispered and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her closer to him. There was a small smile on his face.

"Are you telling me that you're ready to trust in us?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, forgive me for being so stupid."

"You weren't stupid, you were just being really stubborn like I was. And I understand that you don't want to be hurt, no one does Ino-chan. I won't ever hurt you." He spoke in a firm voice.

She gave a nod and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tighter.

"Just promise me that I'm the only one you want, not Sakura, not Tenten, not Hinata, not anyone else but me."

"As long as you don't run off with Shikamaru."

"Huh, what does Shika have to do with anything?"

Naruto broke the hug and gave her a smile.

"Never mind."

"Shika and are just friends, he's more like family to me than a boyfriend. Besides I think he had something going on with Temari from Suna."

"What the hell?" Shikamaru came out of his lazy stupor for a moment as soon as he heard that, causing Sakura to chuckle lightly.

"I believe you Ino-chan."

"Good." She nodded. "Because I only want you, come her okay. I've been dying to do this for so long."

She pulled him towards her and captured his lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. He did nothing to stop her kiss because he wanted it just as badly. Their tongue's met and fought with each other for a few minutes. Their kiss intensified to the point where they both ended up falling to the ground. He had his arms wrapped around her waist to protect her from falling off of him.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah." She breathed. "I'm fine."

Suddenly a loud clapping sound caught their attention. Out of the bushes came Tenten, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura, and Shikamaru.

"It was so beautiful." Tenten spoke while still clapping.

"Yes, your reunion was so youthful and joyous." Lee said with fire burning in his eyes.

Ino looked annoyed while Naruto helped her up from the ground.

"So you guys were watching us the whole time?"

"Yes we had to make sure you guys fixed your problems." Sakura said.

"We're really happy for you two Naruto-kun, Ino-chan." Hinata smiled for her friends.

"You guys are all sick." Ino told them but playfully stuck her tongue out of them to show she was kidding. "Hey who said Naruto and I were even together."

"Oh, I don't maybe because haven't let his hand go yet."

Both blond's blushed but did not drop each other's hand.

"Besides you don't plant a kiss on someone's who's just a friend." A familiar voice spoke causing everyone to turn around.

"Huh?"

"Anko-sensei?"

The purple-haired woman nodded and gave a smile as she took a bite out of her dango.

"Oh no, not you again." Naruto sighed heavily.

"Hey watch your mouth kid. I was just minding my own business until I spotted you kids over here. It was all so beautiful." She said with slight sarcasm. "I just have one request now?"

"And what would that be?"

"You two name your first brat after me." She smiled.

Naruto and Ino both shuttered at the thought of a little girl named Anko running around. It didn't take long for Naruto to explode.

"No way in hell am I naming any kid of mine after you!" He shouted.

Ino who didn't want Naruto to suffer the wrath of the amber-eyed woman grabbed him and put her hand over his mouth. She needed to protect him as best as she could.

"Um we'll think about it Anko-sensei." She lied.

"So you guys are official now?" Tenten asked hopefully.

Naruto and Ino then looked at each other and nodded.

"Yeah we are."

"That's good I guess, remember to name the first one after me. I really don't care what else you name the other one's." Anko said truthfully. "I should be going though, congratulations I guess."

Sakura could not contain the joy on her face. She was so glad that everything worked out in the end.

"See you worried for nothing." Shikamaru told her.

She turned to face the lazy genius.

"Thanks so much Shikamaru. I couldn't have done it without you." She suddenly hugged him. He stood there frozen for a moment, not really knowing what to do. By now all eyes were on the two of them.

"Hm," Ino cleared her throat. "Forehead, Shika is there something you'd like to share with the class."

"Yeah." Naruto laughed. "What's going on with you two?"

Sakura quickly let Shikamaru go from the hug.

"There's nothing going on between us."

"Yeah, we're just two innocent bystanders that got caught up in your mess." Shikamaru said in his usual tone.

The group of friends stood there laughing for a few minutes until Ino took Naruto aside for a moment.

"Hey, I need to go talk to Sakura."

The whisker-faced male nodded in understanding.

"Alright, hey tonight meet me up on the Hokage Monument okay."

"Alright." She agreed and gave him one last hug before going over to Sakura. Shikamaru knew what she was about to do so he gave her a nod of encouragement.

"_Go for it Ino."_

"_Thanks Shika." _She thought to herself.

Once she got over to the pink-haired teen, they stood in silence for a few seconds before Ino broke it.

"So this was all your idea?"

"Yeah, do you want to kill me now?" Sakura asked.

Ino shook her head.

"Sakura, thank you."

Sakura blinked, but was glad she didn't punch her in the face.

"What, no yelling or tying to kill me?"

"What?" Ino asked. "Did you want me to?"

"I..."

"Sakura." She cut her off. "I'm sorry. I was unfair to you. You're my friend and I let my insecurity get the best of me."

"It's okay Ino. I understand I'm just glad I could help out."

Ino suddenly hugged the green-eyed teen.

"Thank you Sakura." She repeated.

They didn't need any more words, they understood each other. They could get passed the misunderstandings and their friendship would flourish.

"I understand Ino-pig." She smiled.

"Forehead." She added the nickname in as well.

They released each other from the hug.

"Just don't ever hurt him or I'll kick your ass. Naruto is one of the good guy's."

"I know." Ino agreed. "I won't ever hurt him you have my word."

'Good, you two will be good for each other I can tell. Oh and more thing?"

"What is it?" Ino wondered.

"Don't forget to name your first child after me."

Ino resisted the urge to laugh at her friend.

"How about you just settle for godmother and we'll talk about having a little Sakura running around."

Sakura nodded. She could accept playing godmother.

"Okay we'll talk. I want you both to be happy."

"We'll be fine." Ino promised. "I want you to be happy too Forehead, so if you're thinking about Shika..."

"What!" She interrupted. "Why does everyone think he and I are an item?"

"I don't know it just seemed like it I guess. You shouldn't knock him though, Shika is a great catch. Sure he's lazy but you wont find another guy as smart as him."

"Hm, what's this? Are you cheating on Naruto already pig. You haven't even been official for a whole day yet." She teased.

Ino playfully hit her on the shoulder.

"He's safe with me I promise forehead. He's all mine now."

"He was yours for a long time Ino. You just needed to realize it."

"Yeah." Ino agreed. "I was being an idiot, I won't ever let that happen again."

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto had went over to the pony-tailed male. He finally was able to get the cigarette he truly deserved. He was sitting underneath the tree when he noticed Naruto.

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked

"I had to apologize Shikamaru, and also thanks for helping me."

"It's no problem. Naruto you're my friend, I'd never back stab you."

"I know." Naruto agreed. "You aren't that type of guy. I appreciate you and Sakura-chan helping though."

"Just take care of Ino you guys will be good together. Don't hurt her or I'll have to do something." Shikamaru spoke with a slight smile.

"Oh yeah right." Naruto scoffed. "What are you going to do fall asleep on me?" He laughed.

"Okay very funny but Yamanaka-san will hunt you down."

Naruto immediately stopped laughing at the thought of Inoichi coming to kick his ass.

"That's not funny Shikamaru, cut it out."

"I was only kidding relax. But I do have one thing to say."

"What is it?" Naruto wondered, thinking ii was something important.

'Name your first kid after me." He joked.

But Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"No way in hell am I naming my kid after a lazy guy like you."

"Well at least you know he'd be smart. Anyway I was only kidding. I knew it would get to you."

Naruto calmed herself down drastically after that.

"Well I knew that. I have to go now but thanks again Shikamaru. You're a good friend."

"You are too Naruto that's why Sakura and I wanted to help."

"Yeah, thanks a lot again. Bye."

"See you later."

After everyone had gone their separate ways it was now just Shikamaru and Sakura alone.

"Job well done partner." Sakura spoke. "We did good."

"Yeah I told you it would work. You were determined Sakura."

"Hey I did have help you know?"

"Yeah, you got everyone to go along with it. But you were determined to help so of course everything worked out."

There was silence for a minute as the gentle breeze flowed through the air.

"Hey Shikamaru do you think they'll stay together now?"

"You saw how they were Sakura, they really wanted to be together. So I don't think we have anything to worry about. It's going to be fine."

There was something in his tone of voice that made her want to believe in his words. She smiled at the dark-haired male and to his surprise she put her head to his shoulder.

"Huh, Sakura? Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you for helping me."

He wasn't sure what to say so he decided to just say nothing. After awhile when he noticed she still hadn't moved her head he turned to look at her.

"Sakura?" He then saw that she had fallen asleep.

"Oh man this could be troublesome."

* * *

Later that evening Ino was getting ready to meet up with Naruto at the Hokage Monument. He said it was one of his favorite spots to think. It had been very special to him, probably even more so now that he knew he was actually the 4th's son.

"Where are you going looking so pretty Ino-chan?" Her mother questioned.

A slight blush covered the blonde's cheeks. She wasn't going to lie to her mother about her plans. She did think she looked nice though with her long hair freed from its ponytail. Ino remembered when Naruto told her how pretty she looked with it down.

'I have plans with Naruto tonight."

Inoichi looked up from the scroll he was reading as soon as she said this.

'So then you two were able to work out your problems?" Her father asked.

"Yeah we're in a good place. We're better than good."

Ino's mother hugged her daughter.

"I'm glad dear. You two make such an adorable pair. I'm proud of you for getting over your own stubborn behavior. You realize what a catch you were going to give up right?"

Ino nodded.

'I know how stupid I was being."

"Naruto will be good for you princess." The sandy-haired male admitted. "If you make each other truly happy then it's fine with me."

"So when can I plan for the wedding?" Her mother teased.

Inoichi almost choked and coughed very loudly.

'Daddy are you okay?"

"Y-Yes." He breathed. "I'm fine, it's one thing to date but there will be absolutely no weddings anytime soon. Wedding's at this age means trouble."

"Inoichi-kun settle down I was simply kidding."

"Mom's not entirely wrong daddy."

"What?" He asked.

"My plan is for one day Naruto and I to be an old happily married couple like you and mom."

"Old?" Her parents spoke together.

Ino chuckled and then waved goodbye to her parents.

"I should go. I really don't want to keep my boyfriend waiting."

A smile rose to her face as she said her boyfriend. It felt so good to say that and have it be true. She walked outside and headed up to the Hokage Monument. She heard laughter while she was passing by Ichiraku's. There was Tenten, Lee, Hinata, and Kiba. She and Naruto would be joining them soon as a couple, a real couple this time.

"Hey guys." She walked inside.

"Oh hey Ino what's up?" Kiba asked first.

"Nothing, I just wanted to drop by and say hello."

"If you are going to meet Naruto you tow should join us. We'll make it a couple's only night." Tenten suggested.

"Well you know he'd never turn down ramen. We'll see."

The two couples nodded.

"Well I should go but next time invite Sakura and Shika too."

"What the hell are they dating?"

"Have they truly found eternal happiness with one another?" The black-haired male asked.

'Lee relax." Tenten tried to calm him down before he went into one of his youth talks.

'No but you never knew what could happen. Look at what happened to Naruto and me." She reminded them.

"That's true."

"You guys did sort of come out of nowhere I guess."

"Yeah it was a pleasant surprise. Anyway I'm going to go now, bye you guys." Ino waved goodbye.

She felt anxious and happy while she made her way up the Hokage Monument. They would get to spend some time alone together without any interruptions, hopefully. Only when she got up there she didn't see anyone at first. A sad sigh escaped her. She had hoped he would have been there first, after all it was his idea to meet here. He hadn't changed his mind did he? She decided she would just go have a seat and wait when suddenly she felt two arms wrapped around her waist.

"_Naruto?_" She immediately thought.

"Hey Ino-chan." He spoke and pecked her on the cheek.

He took her hand in his.

"You're late."

"No. I was already here." He smiled. "I just wanted to surprise you. I'm glad that you came."

'There's no where else I'd rather be."

"Me either." Naruto agreed. "Come on let's sit okay."

He didn't let her hand go until they were both sitting down together. They sat there staring at the sky for a minute until Ino broke the silence.

"I've been meaning to ask you are you okay Naruto?"

"I've got you back right, why wouldn't I be okay."

"Yeah, well I'm glad to be yours for real this time. But I was talking about your parents. We are sitting here on top of your father's head after all."

Naruto turned her towards him.

"I had a lot of time to think. They were my mom and dad and although I didn't get the chance to know them. They loved me and that's all that matters. So yeah, I'm okay. I'm the fourths son after all." He gave her his signature smile. She loved that smile. She put her hand to his cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay. And you know you aren't ever going to be alone. My parents love you so you're kind of stuck with us." She laughed a little.

"That's the way I want it Ino-chan. I plan to be their son-in-law one day."

Ino blinked curiously. Her eyes never leaving his.

"Naruto are you...."

He reached into his pocket and took out the necklace with the blue butterfly on it.

"It's beautiful."

"I bought it for you Ino-chan. The color of it reminded me of your eyes. Can I put it on for you?"

"Sure."

She turned around so he could put the butterfly necklace on her. She almost couldn't believe he bought her something so beautiful. But Naruto was always a sweet guy.

"Thank you Naruto."

"You're welcome, keep it until I'm able to buy you a ring one day. I meant it when I said I want to be their son-in-law."

She suddenly hugged him.

"I'll never take it off Naruto. One day I want to marry you too, you're all I want."

He gently rubbed her back and held her close to him.

"And you won't choose Shikamaru or any other guy over me?"

"Never, and you won't choose Sakura or any other girl over me?"

"Well...." He pretended to think.

"Idiot." She hit him in the shoulder.

"Of course not Ino-chan. You're all I want too. I love you." He admitted to her.

She looked up into those gorgeous cerulean-blue pools. She felt how serious he was, besides guys never threw around the L word so easily. Ino put her hand to his cheek and pressed her lips to his. They kissed for a few minutes until they both broke away for air.

"I-I love you too Naruto."

He hugged her tightly one hand holding hers.

"It's only you Ino-chan, always only you."

She squeezed his hand a little more.

"It's only you for me Naruto, no one else, only you."

"Always?" He asked hopefully.

"No." She shook her head.

"Huh?" He blinked in disappointment. With her other hand she stroked his cheek.

"It's always and forever."

He smiled down at her and pulled her into one more kiss.

"That's the way I want it, only you forever Ino-chan."

She snuggled into him closer, pressing her head up against his chest.

'Always only you forever Naruto." She whispered.

He smiled down at her, not wanting to ever let her go. He never wanted to be without her, and he knew she felt the same. They had gone through with this crazy plan and ended up finding real happiness with one another. Naruto would never lose the one he wanted more than anything. He leaned to her ear and whispered,

"Always only you forever Ino-chan."

**A/N: Okay so cheesy ending lol. But I don't care .Anyway the rest of it was really good I think. So now all we have left is the epilogue and this story will officially be complete. Read and Review and I will try to have that final chapter up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.**


	20. Epilogue: Thank you for everything

**A/n: Well it's been a long time coming but we are finally here. This is the epilogue to Ease this broken Heart. I' am so glad to have finally reached the end of this fic. I almost didn't think I would make it but I did. I just want to say thanks a lot for letting this story reach 500 plus reviews. You guys made this my most popular story ever and that's really great. So thanks. When I retire from this site at least I can say I totally had this successful story. So thanks for staying with me and enjoying the ride all the way to the end. Some of you were with me since chapter one and some of you were new but thanks again. I appreciate all the love and support you've shown this fic. Thanks! And thanks to all the musical influences that helped me to finish writing this story. Enjoy the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Wow the final disclaimer. I don't really have an interesting one. So no, I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form. He belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

A blond youth ran around the streets of Konoha in search of something, or rather someone. The young resident ran faster, leaving mayhem and chaos in their way. Items were turned over on the ground, people were shouting and screaming, dogs were barking. The blond stopped for a minute to draw something on the side of a building. There was something about the blank space that needed some special attention. Unfortunately someone had witnessed the whole display.

"Uzumaki!"

The blonde turned around to see a tall brown-haired male standing there. He looked displeased.

"Oh, hi Iruka-sensei." She smiled.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Uh," She paused. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Nothing you say. Did you or did you not cause all this destruction." He pointed to the mess behind him.

The young girl no more than 6 just shot Iruka her trademark smile. She knew that she was the immediate cause for all the damage. They both knew that.

"Um, no." She shook her head. "I didn't do it."

Iruka sighed heavily.

"I'm going to have to tell your mom…" But before he could say more the young girl ran off.

"Uzumaki get back here."

She laughed out loud but did not stop running.

"S-sorry Iruka-sensei but I have to go now."

Iruka just stood there staring after her. It was all really pointless to go after her. She would do whatever she wanted to do anyway. A small smile rose to his face.

"She's such an energetic child. So much like her parents."

The young Uzumaki continued running along in search of someone. She knew he had to be around here somewhere. She had to hurry and find him before her grandfather caught up to her. He was most likely somewhere close by.

"Where are you?" She wondered.

When she came towards some trees she noticed a tall blond-haired male sitting underneath one. He had his eyes closed as he slept peacefully. A huge smile exploded on to her face. She had finally found him. She ran over to the sleeping man and stood in front of him.

"Hey old man!" She shouted.

There was no response from him as he continued to sleep. He looked so peaceful she almost couldn't wake him, well almost was right. The blonde girl put her hand to his arm and began to shake him.

"Old man wake up or you won't get anymore Ichiraku's."

Immediately a pair of cerulean-blue pools opened. He had definitely heard that.

'Hm, oh Megumi-chan." Naruto smiled down at his little girl.

It took him a minute to get out of his sleeping stupor. What in the hell was his little girl doing out here, unsupervised at that?

"_Shit Ino will kill me."_

Megumi just blinked. Her own cerulean-blue pools gazing into her father's.

"Megumi-chan what are you doing out here?"

"I came to find you old man."

Naruto sighed and hung his head down low. Megumi never called him daddy, not once since she had begun to talk. She had always affectionately referred to him as old man. Naruto was beginning to doubt if she would ever call him anything else. He just gave her a smile.

"You came all the way out here just to find me?"

"Yep." "She grinned.

He couldn't help but smile at his beautiful little girl. She was the spitting image of her mom, with his cerulean-blue pools and the sandy-blonde hair of her grandfather Inoichi. She was really adorable no matter how much trouble he felt she was.

"So you escaped from your grandfather then?" He asked and placed the small child in his lap.

"No, he was right behind me."

"And he still is."

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he heard Inoichi's voice. He looked to see the sandy-blond male heading towards them.

"Inoichi-san?"

"Grandpa." Megumi smiled and ran to hug him.

Inoichi reached down to capture her in his arms.

"Hello my little princess. Did you think that you could get away from me?"

"I only wanted to find the old man." She defended herself.

Inoichi chuckled lightly while Naruto could only shake his head. He wanted her to call him dad at least once in her life.

"Megumi-chan I'm not that old."

Megumi then ran back over to her father. She put her hands to his cheeks and patted his face.

"Yes you are you're older than me aren't you?"

Naruto just put his hand to her head and rubbed her sandy-blonde locks.

'Alright, whatever you say Megumi-chan."

Inoichi couldn't help but to enjoy this little father/daughter display. It was very sweet.

"So son how is Ino-chan doing?"

"She's fine sir." Naruto answered. "She's at home."

"Yes I assumed she would be. I suppose you and Megumi can handle things from here."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded and gave the thumbs up. "We'll be fine."

"You won't lose sight of her will you Naruto. You know how energetic our little Megumi is?" Inoichi teased.

Naruto looked offended at those words. He wasn't some incompetent fool who would lose his own child.

"Hey I wouldn't lose track of her."

"Calm down son. I was only kidding although there was that one time where you did lose her at the store."

Naruto turned red from embarrassment while Megumi looked surprised. This was the first time she was hearing anything about this.

"You lost me?" She asked. "How could you?" She looked upset.

Naruto just laughed nervously while she continued to stare up at him. He ran his fingers through his spiky-blond locks.

"Well Megumi-chan you see it was a long time ago…"

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto and Ino had been grocery shopping that day. There was literally no one around to watch their 9 month old daughter, so they had to bring her along._

"_Naruto I' m going to grab some milk hold Megumi please."_

"_Sure thing Ino-chan."_

_She put the small blue-eyed child into Naruto's awaiting arms._

"_Oh, and don't you lose her whatever you do."_

"_Come on Ino-chan have some faith in me. She's my daughter too you know."_

"_Yeah I know but I also know how distracted you can get. I'll be right back, bye sweetheart." She leaned over and Naruto leaned forward too. He was expecting to receive a kiss from his wife but felt nothing. She had been talking to Megumi as she left a kiss on the baby's cheek._

"_Where is my kiss?" He wondered._

"_You'll get yours later." She winked and walked away. Megumi let out a giggle while Naruto sighed._

"_I guess fathers don't get any love."_

_He knew that he was supposed to wait right here for her to come back, but he suddenly remembered that he hadn't bought any instant ramen._

'_I'm sure your mom won't mind if we go and get some ramen right Megumi-chan?"_

_Megumi just clapped her hands together and giggled again. He took this as a sign that she agreed with him. The father and daughter made their way to find him some ramen. Naturally all the many different flavors had distracted the blond man. As he stood hungrily staring at all the flavors Megumi had ended up crawling away from him._

"_So many flavors." He whispered._

_Megumi kept right on crawling knocking down several items as she traveled along the store. She had a feeling the blond man would come to find her. Naruto on the other hand grabbed at least one of each flavor of the packaged ramen._

"_Hey Megumi we made out pretty good huh?"_

_When he didn't hear any sort of response he began to panic._

"_Megumi-chan! Oh shit where did she go?"_

_He froze when he heard footsteps._

"_I knew that I would find you over here with the ramen of course." Ino spoke._

_He turned around to face his wife._

"_Oh, Ino-chan you're back so soon."_

"_I just went to get some milk that's all. Um Naruto where's Megumi?" She immediately asked._

"_Uh don't get mad." He put his hands up in a defensive manner._

"_Don't get mad?" She repeated. "What the hell happened?"_

_Before he could explain a voice was heard that caught their attention._

'_Whose baby is this?"  
_

_It had to be their Megumi, who else could manage to garner up some attention._

"_Megumi!" They shouted together and ran off to find their daughter. Fortunately they found her sitting on some boxes of cookies._

'_Megumi." Ino shouted out and took her into her arms. "Thank god you're okay. No thanks to Naruto-baka over here."_

_Megumi pouted and stuck her tongue out at her father. Naruto stood there with his mouth wide open._

"_Ino-chan did you see that? She's teasing me."_

"_She's a baby Naruto don't be silly."_

"_But…" He protested._

"_Come one lets go home okay. I think she's had enough adventure for one day."_

_The blond male could only sigh in defeat as he followed behind his wife and daughter._

"_She's going to be a handful I just know it."_

* * *

And of course he had been completely right about that. Everyone knew who Megumi Uzumaki was, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Was Mommy really mad?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah she was pretty mad but I made it up to her."

"How?" She wondered.

Naruto blinked a few times and turned red as well as Inoichi.

"_How the hell is he going to explain this one?"_ The older man wondered.

Naruto knew he couldn't very well explain the details of how he made everything right again. The blue-eyed child stared in anticipation at her farther. She obviously wanted some type of answer.

"We, uh, we played a game yeah that's right a game."

"A game, oh like your ninja games?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "But Megumi-chan being a ninja isn't a game you know. It's a lot of hard work but I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"Yeah I'll be a great ninja just like you, and mommy, and grandpa."

"That's right." Inoichi patted his granddaughter on the head.

"You got it Megumi-chan. You've got the best of the best genes in you." Naruto grinned.

He saw no reason why she wouldn't grow up to be a great shinobi. She was after all his daughter and she came from some great shinobi. Megumi smiled as well.

"You'll be fine kiddo just remember no pressure okay. Mom and I love you no matter what."

She nodded.

"I should be going now though." Inoichi soon spoke. "I have a mission."

"Are you still doing missions old man?" Naruto teased his father-in-law.

He was definitely less afraid of the older man since he married his daughter.

"I' am not old son. I could easily take you down." Inoichi gave a warm smile to the whisker-faced male. He enjoyed the relationship he had with his son-in-law. It was a good thing that Naruto had leaned to loosen up a lot.

"I'm still waiting for the day Inoichi-san."

Inoichi nodded and then kissed Megumi on the cheek goodbye.

"Goodbye princess look after your father here."

"Hey I resent that. I'm the adult here." Naruto felt as if he had to keep reminding everyone of that.

"He was only kidding right grandpa?"

"Yeah I was mostly kidding. Well, take care you two I'll see you when I return. Bye."

"Bye Inoichi-san."

"Bye grandpa." Megumi waved to the tall sandy-blond.

And with that he was gone leaving the father and daughter alone.

"You and grandpa are funny."

"Yeah well would you believe I used to be really afraid of him?" Naruto laughed.

Megumi was a little surprised by this. The only people she thought her father feared was her mom and Tsunade-san.

"But I thought you were only afraid of mommy?"

Naruto paused as she said this.

"I' am not afraid of your mom."

"Oh yeah, well she's heading this way."

"What!" Naruto panicked. "Where is she?"

He stood up and began looking around for any sign of the platinum-blonde. Megumi chuckled at his facial expression.

"I was just kidding old man."

Naruto let out a defeated sigh. The only time he could really remember being scared of Ino was when she was pregnant with Megumi. Those were some rough times. She had been so moody and out of control. It was always "Naruto do this. Naruto get this." "This is all you're fault" and so many times she said that she hated him. He wasn't sure when those 9 months were going to end but he had been glad when they did. It wasn't all bad though. He could remember one beautiful moment in particular. A moment he knew that he would never forget.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto had surprised his wife with a beautifully set-up picnic for two. They had just come from her doctor's appointment and he thought that this would be a nice way to end the day. He carefully helped the clearly pregnant Ino sit down._

"_Naruto I'm okay. You don't have to baby me so much."_

"_Hey I just want to take care of the two of you. You can't blame me for that right?" he gave her a smile._

_Ino couldn't resist that smile of his. It caused her to smile right back at him._

"_No I can't blame you."_

_He sat down across from her and was about to hand her something to eat._

"_Eat up okay Ino-chan. You are eating for two after all."_

"_Yeah I definitely haven't forgotten look at how huge I' am."_

"_No way you're beautiful."_

"_Thanks for trying to cheer me up." She appreciated the gesture. He shook his head and leaned over to kiss her on the lips._

"_I meant it."_

'_Yeah thank you. So what did you bring I'm starved."_

_She couldn't help but notice he had some ramen of course._

"_I'm not really in the mood for ramen."_

"_Come on Ino-chan it will make you feel better."_

"_You're not turning our child into a ramen-loving oh…" She paused._

_A worried expression rose to the whisker-faced man's face._

"_Ino-chan what's wrong? Are you okay?"_

"_Y-yeah." She nodded. "I'm fine. I just felt the baby kick."_

"_Really," Naruto spoke._

"_Yeah, come here, feel."_

_Ino took Naruto's hand and pressed it to her stomach. He waited in anticipation but felt nothing. He was immediately disappointed. He had wanted to feel the baby kick too._

"_I don't feel anything."_

"_Just wait okay you'll feel it."_

_So he waited patiently to feel what she had felt. It took a few moments but he soon felt the kick._

"_Wow." He smiled._

"_Yeah," She smiled back. "Did you feel it?"_

"_Yeah, I did. What a kick that's my boy." He cheered._

"_It might be a girl." Ino reminded him. _

"_Yeah, you're right. As long as it's healthy then I don't care what it is."_

_Ino put her hand over his as they enjoyed the moment together. He then remembered something he read in his father's journal awhile back. Ino couldn't help but notice his silence._

'_What's wrong Naruto?"_

"_I was just thinking about my father and what he wrote in his journal. He said when he felt me kick at my mother is was the most amazing feeling ever. He was right, it is amazing." He spoke and affectionately rubbed her stomach in which he felt another strong kick._

'_Yeah this kid is going to be something."_

"_Definitely," Ino agreed. "This baby is an Uzumaki after all. It has you for a father."_

* * *

She had no idea how much he truly appreciated her saying those words to him. He wanted to be the best father he could be. Megumi stared up at her dad. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong Megumi-chan. I was only thinking but I promise you I'm not afraid of your mother."

"You can't be scared old man. How can you be afraid if you want to take Tsunade-Baa-chan's job and be the Ho….Ho…Hokage?" She sounded out.

"I will be the Hokage one day." Naruto said confidently. "Baa-chan is just too stubborn to give it up.' Naruto laughed. "But I'll definitely be Hokage."

Megumi nodded and then wrapped her arms around his leg in an attempt to hug him.

'I believe you."

"You do?" Naruto blinked. "You aren't going to tease me or say that I'm just a stupid old man."

"Nope." The blue-eyed child shook her head. "I believe you because you always do what you say." She smiled and he couldn't help but smile down at his little girl. He bent down to capture her in a tight hug.

"Thank you Megumi-chan." He whispered.

He soon broke away from their hug.

"So are you ready to go home now?"

"Can we get some candy first?"

"Well we're already out so I guess your mother wont mind."

"Can I ride on your shoulders?"

He couldn't say no to her. He carefully placed his little girl on his shoulders.

"Alright let's go get that candy." He spoke cheerfully. "_And hopefully some ramen too."_ He thought to himself.

* * *

Meanwhile 3 young women were sitting at a tea-house drinking and enjoying their time together.

"It's a really nice day today." The pink-haired one spoke.

"Yeah," The brunette agreed. "It's too bad that Ino couldn't be here."

"I miss Ino-chan." The blue-haired female said next. "We haven't seen her in awhile."

"I miss her too." Sakura nodded.

"We should go by her place and see her." Tenten suggested.

It wasn't a bad idea to go and visit their friend. It wasn't as if she would be coming to hang out with them.

"Alright," Sakura started. "Lets…"

"You guys aren't planning on leaving now are you, especially when I just got here." They heard an all too familiar voice.

The three young women turned around to see their platinum-blonde friend standing there.

"Ino?" They all spoke together.

"Hey guys."

Sakura and Tenten quickly walked over to help their friend sit down. She was after all 6 and half months pregnant with her and Naruto's second child.

"What are you doing out?" Sakura immediately asked.

"Yeah I thought Naruto was keeping you under house arrest?"

Naruto had certainly taken to being the overprotective husband once they found out about their latest addition. He wanted her to do nothing but stay off her feet and rest. It wasn't as if she didn't appreciate it but she didn't want to be treated like she was helpless.

"Please." Ino laughed. "No man keeps me down you guys know that."

"Naruto-kun is just worried about you and the baby Ino-chan." Hinata reminded her.

"Yeah I know. He's so nervous it's cute. I think he's more nervous now than when I had Megumi."

"And he was definitely a wreck back then." Tenten laughed as she remembered how panicked the young man was. She was sure that she had never seen him act so nervous in his entire life.

"It's Naruto what can you expect." Sakura gave a smile.

"He's taking good care of me, like always but I just had to get away for awhile. I couldn't take being in the house another second."

She had only decided to go for a walk but was glad to have spotted her friends. It would be nice to catch up with them for a bit, before Naruto started up the search party of course.

"Where is Naruto anyway?"

"He went out earlier. I think he was in the mood for ramen. And Megumi is with my father so I was home alone."

"In other words you saw your opportunity and took it."

"You got it." Ino smiled.

She knew she would have to get home before he did though. T he last thing she wanted was to worry him. He was already on edge as it was.

"Either way it is good to see you."

"Yeah I missed you guys. We don't really hang out much these days."

"Well you're too busy Ino. You're a mom; wow I still can't believe that you were the first one of us to become a mother. I thought for sure that Hinata would have been the first."

The blue-haired female turned slightly red.

"Are you saying that I'm not mom material?" Ino asked.

"It isn't that Ino don't get mad it's not good for the baby." Sakura reminded her.

'I'm fine, don't worry. But yeah I get your point Hinata is the one I thought would be a mom first. Speaking of which when are you and Kiba going to start?" Ino asked.

"Ino-chan?" She turned red again.

The other three young women laughed at that all too familiar behavior.

"Yeah Hinata you'd better hurry if you want to catch up to Naruto and Ino before they start a small village of their own."

"Hey!" Ino exclaimed. "We are not starting our own village. This one was just unexpected that's all."

"Just like our favorite little troublemaker."

Ino knew they were referring to her Megumi. The platinum-blonde was aware of how energetic she was.

"She isn't….well…maybe…okay so she's a little rambunctious."

"How is our favorite hell raiser?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura she isn't…."

"I love Megumi don't get me wrong. She's the cutest thing ever."

"Oh yeah she's definitely a cutie." Tenten agreed.

"She's just a lot to handle sometimes. You remember when we were watching her and she got away from us?"

"Yeah it took everyone to go find her. Kiba, Lee, Chouji, Neji, everyone was needed."

"We did find her thank goodness." Hinata said.

'Yeah," Sakura laughed. "Thank goodness Shikamaru found her, or did she find him? Remember how cute they both looked sleeping underneath that tree."

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata each gave the green-eyed female a look.

"So forehead, how are things with you and Shika?" Ino asked.

She turned bright red.

"We, we're just friends." Sakura quickly spoke up.

"Yeah right," Tenten scoffed. "Why don't you tell that to him then?"

"Huh?"

"He's right outside."

"He is?" Sakura turned around to see that he was indeed walking by. He hadn't seemed to notice anything though.

'I'll invite him in." Tenten spoke.

"No don't…."

But it was too late the brunette was already gone.

"Oi Shikamaru?"

Ino couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, Tenten."

"Are you busy come in and have some tea with us?"

"Us?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Yeah come have some tea with me, Hinata, Ino's here…."

"What, Naruto let her out?"

Tenten chuckled.

"Yeah she broke out just to get some air. Sakura's here too."

He didn't say anything but nodded and followed behind the brunette.

"Look who I found guys. It's Shikamaru."

Sakura turned another shade of red and hoped that no one noticed. She might have had just a slight crush on the lazy ninja.

"Hey Shika." Ino spoke and hugged her friend.

"Hey, what are you doing out? I thought Naruto wasn't taking his eyes off of you?"

"Yeah well Naruto doesn't exactly know that I left the house. It'll be our little secret." Ino grinned.

"Hm," The pony-tailed male nodded. His attention then drifted over to the pink-haired medic-nin. She seemed to be a little on edge.

'Sakura?"

"Oh, uh, hey Shikamaru."

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata stared in anticipation at the two of them. But when nothing else was said Ino was the first to sigh in frustration. She had been hoping for a long time for something to happen between the two of them.

'You guys make me sick. When are you two going to hook up already?"

"Calm down Ino getting upset isn't good for the baby."

"Oh yeah use my pregnancy as an excuse." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Are you doing okay though?" Shikamaru asked with clear concern.

The platinum blonde gave a firm nod.

"I'm okay. This baby doesn't seem to be as wild as Megumi. She used to really kick at me constantly and those cravings, my god." How could she forget about all those weird and strange things she consumed during those 9 month's.

"Second pregnancies are often easier than the first." Sakura reminded her.

"Well no one is like Megumi." Shikamaru started.

"God help you and Naruto if this one is anything like her, oh no offense."

"None taken my little angel is special." Ino firmly believed this.

"Of course she is." The green-eyed female nodded. "She is my goddaughter of course.

Sakura smiled proudly. She couldn't wait to teach Megumi all of the things she had learned from Tsunade-sama over the years.

'Yeah." Shikamaru nodded. "She'll be okay."

"And she had so much energy she'll make a great ninja." Hinata spoke.

Ino agreed.

'Yeah she'll be great just like her dad."

"I'm not sure whose personality Megumi inherited." Tenten began. "But she's definitely the spitting image of you Ino. You two look so much alike it's crazy."

"She's a mini-me." Ino spoke proudly.

Megumi did look exactly like her but she did have Naruto's eyes. She loved that beautiful shade of blue.

"Poor kid." Shikamaru whispered with Sakura chuckling. It did not go unnoticed by Ino.

"Hey watch your mouth Shika or I'll kill you."

"Yeah don't upset the pregnant lady." Tenten laughed.

'I was only kidding Ino relax. She may be very troublesome but she's still my goddaughter."

"That's right she is. You and forehead here are her godparents. She adores the two of you."

"We love her too." Sakura said. "And we're all going to love the new one too."

"Oh." Tenten interrupted. "Speaking of the new baby we never did throw you another baby shower."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Tenten?" Shikamaru wondered.

"No thanks." Ino shook her head. "I'm still reeling over the first one."

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_Ino wasn't sure what was going on but Naruto had been really secretive all day. The only thing he said was that he had a surprise planned. But pregnant and hormonal was really taking its toll on the platinum-blonde._

"_Naruto what's going on?"_

_  
"It's a surprise Ino-chan."_

_He held her hand and led the way to a very familiar spot. Ino remembered where they were going because she had always liked coming here to think as a teenager. It was her favorite spot. She was a little surprised that he remembered._

"_You remembered." She whispered thoughtfully._

"_Yeah, I never forget you know that."_

_She smiled at her husband._

"_I…"_

_But before she could finish speaking something was heard that distracted her._

"_Surprise!"_

"_Huh?"  
_

_Ino looked to see Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba, Chouji, Neji, even Iruka, Shizune, Anko, and Tsunade herself._

"_What's going on?" Ino wondered._

"_It's your baby shower Ino-pig come sit down."_

_They sat her down in a big comfortable purple-colored chair._

"_Yeah kid. We couldn't very well not throw you and your little brat a party." Anko smiled._

"_Hey our kid is not a brat." Naruto spoke up._

"_Yeah well we'll see when little Anko is born."_

_The whisker-faced male shuddered at the very thought of naming his child after the snake mistress. That was the last name in the world he would ever even consider._

"_For the last time we aren't naming our child after you."_

"_What was that?" Anko snarled._

"_Anko-sensei, Naruto will you two please calm down." Ino asked._

"_Okay fine we don't want to upset the little woman here."_

"_That's right." Tsunade intervened. "Ino doesn't need any stress right now."_

_Naruto nodded in agreement. The last thing he wanted was for Ino to be stressed out._

"_Yeah Ino-chan needs to take it easy so let's just have a good time okay."_

"_Hell yeah I'm down for a good time." Kiba cheered._

_Hinata placed her hand on to the brown-haired male's shoulder._

"_Calm down okay Kiba-kun."_

"_Huh, oh right."_

"_He's totally whipped." Chouji muttered while eating some potato chips._

"_What was that?"_

"_Oh, nothing." The light brown-haired male chuckled._

_Kiba glared at Chouji but decided not to provoke him. He wouldn't want to cause a scene at Ino's baby shower. Nothing would be worse than making Ino upset right now; all hell was bound to break loose then._

"_Let's open up some presents." Sakura interrupted._

"_Yeah, that sounds good."_

_Together Ino and Naruto opened up the gifts from their friends. There were gifts like toys, blankets, and baby books._

"_This one is from me." Naruto soon handed her a golden locket. _

'_Naruto you really shouldn't have."_

"_Open it okay." He smiled._

_She opened the locket to see there was a picture of the two of them inside. The other side of the locket was empty._

"_When the baby is born we can put his or her picture right there."_

_Ino smiled up at the man she loved so much. She stood up to give him a hug. He was so very thoughtful._

"_It's a very sweet gift Naruto, thank you."_

_Everyone smiled at the couple as they leaned in for the kiss._

"_Okay you lovebirds this one is from me and Shikamaru." Sakura spoke up._

"_No it was your idea. I just agreed it was nice." The lazy ninja said._

_Sakura rolled her eyes and decided not to say anything in response. The pink-haired medic-nin handed Ino a pink-colored music box._

'_Sakura it's really beautiful."_

"_It's for the baby. I have a really good feeling that it's going to be a girl."_

"_Do you really think so Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked._

_  
"Yep." Sakura nodded. "I think so. I saw the music box and just had to buy it. I hope she likes it."_

"_She'll love it Sakura I'm sure of it. Well I guess that's it for presents right?"_

"_No," Lee interrupted. "Ino, Naruto you did not open mine."_

"_Oh no." The couple thought to themselves._

_They were both nervous about this gift of Lee's. Just what in the world would they be faced with? The black-haired male came over to them with his gift in his hands._

'_Oh my god what did this guy buy?" Ino thought nervously._

_She closed her eyes and felt him place something in her hands._

"_Ino-chan its okay you can look."_

_She re-opened her eyes to see that it wasn't anything weird. In fact it was one of the most beautiful paintings she had ever seen. It was a portrait of Konoha at night._

_  
"Lee it's gorgeous."_

"_Yeah don't you just love it? He painted it himself." Tenten said._

_This was a surprise for everyone. No one had any idea Lee was an artist._

"_It's great Lee." Naruto agreed._

"_You can put it in her room if it's a girl like Sakura thinks."_

_Ino wiped the tears from her eyes._

"_Ino-chan what's wrong?"_

"_Oh no, this isn't very youthful at all, Ino-chan why are you crying?"_

"_It's just…I'm so happy. I' am so glad you decided not to give us one of your green spandex suits for our baby."_

_Lee's eyes suddenly got bright._

"_Why, did you want one for your little one? I have plenty."_

"_Oh no thanks Lee this picture is perfect."_

_Lee looked suddenly defeated._

"_It's okay Lee-kun don't worry about it." Tenten tried to cheer him up._

"_Okay well how about some cake."_

"_Cake?" Chouji definitely heard that._

"_Oh boy I've seen this kid in action we're done for." 'Anko spoke. Shizune just chuckled while Iruka looked worried._

"_Well as long as there is enough cake to go around we should be fine." He said._

"_Cake and Sake for everyone." Tsunade cheered. "Oh," She looked over to the platinum-blonde. "Everyone gets some sake except for you Ino. It's not good for the baby."_

"_Yeah you don't want the kid to be as slow as its dad." Kiba laughed._

"_Shut up Kiba!" Naruto shouted. _

_He wanted to punch him but decided against it for Ino's sake. From there the cake was cut and sake was given to everyone except for Ino. She had opted for water instead. Things seemed to be going well until that last slice of cake was left._

'_Hey we're done to the last slice of cake who wants it?"_

"_I do." Both Ino and Chouji said at the same time. Both of them glared at each other._

"_Chouji it's my party after all."_

"_Yeah well I think the last slice should be mine."_

"_Hey, I'm the pregnant one here. I'm getting the last slice."_

"_But Ino it'll go straight to your thighs and you wouldn't want that right? So in a way I'm doing you a favor." He laughed._

_But Ino did not look amused in fact she looked completely offended._

"_Why you…." She growled. "You fat…"_

"_Fat!" He shouted back. "I' am not fat."  
_

_Naruto quickly ran over to the arguing friends. He had to get Ino away from there before Chouji lost his mind._

"_Aw come on Ino-chan let him have the last slice."_

"_Hey you're supposed to be on my side."_

"_Everyone stand back they're both going to blow." The purple-haired woman said._

_Which was worse an angry, pregnant Ino or an upset, hungry Chouji? No one wanted to find out._

"_Come on guys lets just enjoy this youthful moment together." Lee intervened._

_Everyone turned to face the black-haired male and shouted in annoyance._

"_Shut the hell up Lee!"_

* * *

"It wasn't so bad Ino."

"Chouji and I didn't speak for a whole week after that. Tsunade-sama was drunk out of her mind by the end of it. And Anko-sensei…."She paused. "Well don't get me started on her.

"Yeah." The friends nodded. They did not need reminding.

"Alright then no second baby shower." Tenten said.

"It was really nice of you guys to throw me one. But I don't think we need to have another one. Besides with the way Naruto is keeping an eye on me we won't be going anywhere for the next three months."

She was partly serious about that. Naruto wasn't letting her too far out of his sight.

"He loves you Ino. He's going to want to look out for you." Shikamaru reminded her.

"Yeah," Ino whispered thoughtfully as she stared down at her wedding ring. "I know Shika. I'm really lucky."

Meanwhile Naruto and Megumi were walking the streets of Konoha. She had long since stopped riding on her father's shoulders. She was now holding on to a rather large bag of candy.

"Thanks for the candy old man."

Naruto sighed.

"You're welcome Megumi-chan. Hey, how about we get some ice cream before we go home?"

"Wow, really?"

"Sure we're already out. You're mom is probably asleep anyway."

"Alright that sounds good." Megumi agreed.

He suddenly picked her up and put her back on to his shoulders.

"Thanks." She laughed.

"Sure." He smiled back. They were soon passing by Ichiraku's when Naruto felt his stomach grumble at the sight.

"You want some ramen don't you?" She asked knowingly.

"It can wait."

"Are you sure you love Ichiraku's."

"Well I know that you don't really like ramen Megumi-chan, so I'll get it later."

"I don't have a problem with ramen."

He knew that she wasn't particularly fond of his favorite meal in the entire world. She inherited that trait from her mother. It hurt that she didn't care for ramen half as much as he did. It would have at least given them something to have in common.

"Yeah, huh what did you say?"

"It's not bad. I just can't eat it like you can. You swallow your ramen." She giggled.

"Megumi-chan when did you start liking ramen."

"I've always liked it old man just not as much as you. No one likes it as much as you."

Naruto just smiled; as long as she didn't despise ramen then it was alright with him.

"You are really are my daughter." He spoke happily.

He remembered the time when she was smaller and he tried to feed her some ramen. She refused to eat it and he foolishly ended up asking Ino if she was really his daughter. That certainly pissed her off and earned him a slap across the face.

"Of course she's yours you idiot." He remembered her tone of voice.

Megumi just patted him on the head.

"Of course I am."

"Well I'm glad you like Ichiraku's its important family history. Your mom and I used to go on dates there all the time."

"Did you guys get married at old man Teuchi's shop too?" She was curious.

At this Naruto laughed, not that he would have said no to getting married there. But of course Ino would have immediately shut that idea down.

"No we got married on top of the Hokage Monument. It's like our special place so we decided to get married there. Hey, did you know that you were almost born in Ichiraku's?"

The small child on his shoulders eyes widened at this news.

"You're joking."

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled. "I almost thought you were going to be born right there. Luckily our friends and I got your mother to the hospital in time."

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_It probably wasn't a good idea but Naruto had convinced Ino to come out and have a bowl of ramen with him. She was very pregnant by now and looked as if he baby was going to pop out any day now. The blond male helped her sit down._

_  
"I'm glad you decided to come out with me Ino-chan."_

"_Yeah I was getting pretty restless back at home."_

_She had been advised to rest and to take it easy, but she couldn't rest for some reason. Naruto put his hand to her shoulder._

"_Don't worry Ino-chan he or she will be born really soon."_

"_Yeah and I'm really nervous about it." She admitted._

_He took her hand within and gave it a squeeze. He wished he could take away an uneasiness she was feeling. The couple stared at one another for a minute._

"_Everything will be okay Ino-chan. I'm with you every step of the way."_

"_I know you will be. I love you Naruto."_

"_I love you too." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek._

"_Hello Naruto-kun, Ino-chan." Lee's voice was heard._

"_Oh, hey Lee."_

_The black-haired male gave them both the thumbs up._

"_How are you feeling today Ino?" Tenten asked._

"_Yeah how's the little rug rat." Kiba asked._

"_I'm fine." Ino nodded. "And Kiba don't ever call my baby a rug rat ever again."_

_The brown-haired male just gave the platinum-blonde a smile._

"_Uh, sure thing Ino."_

"_You're probably really excited about the baby coming soon."_

"_Yes. I think the baby is excited too it hasn't stopped kicking at me yet."_

"_You got a fighter on your hands huh Naruto."_

_Naruto ended up smiling too. "Hey my kid is going to be amazing."_

"_And you know this for sure, how?"_

_Naruto frowned at Kiba's words._

"_Shut up Kiba my kid will definitely be amazing and kick your future kid's butt."_

"_What?" Kiba growled. "You're on Uzumaki."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Naruto?" Ino soon spoke._

_But he hadn't heard her right away because he was too busy yelling at Kiba._

"_And furthermore…."_

"_Naruto?" She repeated._

"_Um Naruto I think Ino…."_

"_NARUTO!"_

"_Huh, what is it Ino-chan."_

"_I don't know if this is going to be problem for you but…" She paused. "My water just broke."_

"_What!" Naruto, Tenten, Lee, and Kiba all shouted out._

"_Yeah," She nodded._

_Naruto immediately went into panic mode. This was the day he had waited many months for. He stood up._

"_Okay let's go." He started to run off._

"_Naruto you idiot aren't you forgetting something?"_

"_Oh shit yeah, sorry Ino-chan."_

_He quickly picked her up and ran off with their friends following after them._

"_I'll go get Sakura, Shikamaru, Hinata and the others. I'm sure they want to be there for this." Tenten said._

"_Okay we'll see you guys at the hospital then."_

_Naruto just kept right on going, not planning on slowing down for a moment. Their baby was going to be born today. It did not want to wait any longer._

"_Don't worry Ino-chan it'll be okay."_

"_Let's just get to the hospital please."_

_He nodded and picked up his speed. Once at the hospital she was immediately rushed in. Kiba and Lee were waiting for the others while Naruto went in to be with his wife. There was no way in hell he would leave her alone, besides he said he would be there every step of the way and he meant it._

"_I can't believe she's having the baby now." Kiba spoke._

"_Yes, it is a most joyous occasion." Lee nodded._

"_Lee, Kiba!" Sakura's voice was heard and the others ran over to the two of them._

"_Hey Sakura."_

"_What happened, did we miss anything?"_

"_Is Ino-chan okay?" Hinata wondered._

'_She's fine. You guys didn't miss anything."_

"_This is so exciting." Tenten spoke. "I wonder if it's going to be a boy or girl."_

"_It'll definitely be a girl." Sakura seemed confident._

"_Why are you so sure?" The lazy ninja questioned the pink-haired young woman._

"_I don't know. I just have a good feeling that it's a girl. My goddaughter." She thought happily._

_For awhile nothing had been heard. Sakura was pacing nervously with Shikamaru watching her._

_  
"Hey you'll put a hole in the ground if you don't stop."_

"_No I won't."_

"_Yeah you will, have you noticed your strength."_

_She turned red slightly then gripped her fist._

"_I'm just excited that's all."  
_

"_We all are." Tenten agreed._

'_This is a very youthful time. We must all be joyous." Lee cheered._

"_Fuck!" Ino's voice was heard. "Naruto I hate you!"_

_Kiba laughed. "Someone sounds like they're going to pay."_

"_It sounds like Naruto's getting an earful."_

_Inside the room Ino was squeezing the hell out of Naruto's hand._

"_Ow, ow." He complained. "Ino-chan please be careful."  
_

"_Be careful…" She repeated. "WE should have been…. Damn it." She cursed again. "I fucking hate you it hurts so much."_

_He put his free arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead. He knew that this was only the pain talking._

'_It'll be okay I love you." He whispered to her._

_And for awhile nothing was heard again leaving everyone out in the hall worried._

"_Jeez I hope everything is okay." Chouji spoke nervously while eating his chips._

"_She'll be fine." Shikamaru said._

"_How can you be so sure Shika what if…?" Sakura stopped._

_The pony-tailed male gently put his hand to her shoulder in an effort to help the green-eyed woman down._

"_She'll be fine because she's Ino and Naruto's with her. She's in good hands."_

_Sakura slowly nodded, finally calming down."_

"_Yeah you're right Shika."_

_Back inside the room Naruto was sure that his hand was broken in several places. But it would all be worth it in the end._

"_Just one more push ought to do it okay Ino-chan." Shizune told her._

"_Okay." She breathed._

_A loud scream came from Ino's mouth and some cries were heard. The next thing Naruto knew the small child was being taken from the comfort of its mother's womb. He saw some sandy-blonde hair atop the child's head._

"_It's a girl."_

"_It's a girl." Naruto whispered._

_The baby was cleaned and then placed into Ino's arms. Naruto stared down into those beautiful cerulean pools, his own eyes._

"_She's beautiful." Ino whispered. She was worth it."_

_Naruto nodded._

"_She is beautiful Ino-chan."_

"_She has your eyes." A yawn escaped Ino and she placed their daughter in his surprised arms. "Hold her okay I…"_

_The next thing he knew she had fallen off to sleep. Naruto kissed her on the forehead again. She had been completely amazing throughout the entire ordeal. He was so incredibly proud and amazed._

'_You were wonderful Ino-chan."_

_He then looked over to the blonde-haired baby in his arms._

"_Okay little one let's go show you off to everyone."_

_He exited the room and entered the hallway. Sakura was the first one to spot him._

'_Naruto, oh Naruto what happened. Is everything aright?"_

"_Yeah," He nodded. "'Everything's fine she had a girl."_

"_She's so beautiful. Look at her."_

"_She's tiny." Hinata smiled._

"_Hey Naruto, buddy she's got your eyes."_

_Naruto just stared down at his little girl. She was absolutely perfect._

"_Yeah she's perfect."_

_Those cerulean-blue pools were staring up into his. The child in his arms was staring up at him and only him. He knew for sure that he would love her forever. Nothing could change his feelings for this little person in his arms._

'_Now I know how my father must have felt."_

"_What's her name Naruto?"_

"_Huh, oh…um…."_

"'_What is she going to be called baby for the rest of her life?"_

__

"No.' He shook his head. "It's Megumi. Megumi Uzumaki."

* * *

"So you named me?" Megumi asked.

"Yeah and your mother loved the name. So ever since then you've been Megumi."

She opened her mouth to say something but paused when she saw a dark-haired male up ahead.

"Oh no."

"What's wrong Megumi-chan?"

"Look." She pointed.

"Naruto-kun, Megumi-chan!"

"OH." Naruto thought. "Hi Lee."

Truth be told Lee did scare Megumi a little.

"Hello how are you both on this very youthful day?"

"Hi Lee-san." Megumi spoke. "Let me down please." She asked to get off of his shoulders. Naruto helped his daughter back on to the ground.

"Megumi-chan you look more and more like your mother every day." Lee said to her.

"Really?"

"Yes definitely." Lee smiled. "How is everything Naruto-kun?"

'Everything's fine Lee. Megumi-chan and I were just going to get some ice cream and then head home."

But truth be told ice cream was the farthest thing from Megumi's mind. She saw someone that got her attention.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah Megumi-chan we're going to see mommy after this."

"No." The blue-eyed girl shook her head. "I see her over there, mommy!"

"What!" Naruto shouted.

Megumi broke off into a run for the teahouse with Naruto and Lee running after her.

"Megumi-chan, wait."

"Yes wait for us." Lee called out.

Megumi ran straight into the teahouse.

'Mommy!"

"Huh?" Ino immediately turned around.

"Megumi-chan?"

"Hi mommy." She grinned and ran over to her mother.

Ino's mouth was open as she saw her daughter before her. Just what in hell was she even doing out here?

"Megumi-chan what are you doing out here. Where's grandpa?"

"He…"

"Ino-chan?" Naruto called out to her as he came over to his wife and daughter.

"Hi Naruto," She smiled. She knew that she would have some explaining to do. He didn't smile back.

"Ino-chan why aren't you at home resting?"

"I needed some air. And what was Megumi doing out here, huh?"

"I was with her. She ran away from your dad but he was right behind her the whole time."

"Megumi did you run away from grandpa again?"

"Um…" She started with a nervous expression on her face. "Maybe."

"She's so cute." Sakura swooned.

"Hi, Auntie Sakura." She smiled and hugged the pink-haired woman.

"Oh no, not a chance young lady." Ino spoke. "Answer me."

"Alright so I did run away from grandpa."

"Why?" Ino wondered. "You could have gotten lost or hurt."

"I'm okay mommy I just went to find the old man."

"Oh I see."

Naruto just sat down besides his wife.

"You still shouldn't have run away like that alright. Your father and I would have been very worried. So please don't scare us like that."

"Alright mommy I won't do it again."

Naruto leaned over to put his hand to Ino's stomach. He was worried about her.

"Ino-chan are you both okay? You should be home."

"Naruto I'm fine I promise. I just went to get some air but we're fine."

The blond male nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's cute how much you worry Naruto." Tenten said lightheartedly.

"See I told you he was a nervous wreck."

"I' am not a nervous wreck." Naruto shook his head.

"You are too." Ino smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Ew gross mommy."

Ino just laughed at her daughter's reaction.

"We love each other sweetie it's what people in love do."

"Yeah and you'll find out about that much later Megumi-chan." Naruto said.

She simply blinked. She really didn't understand what her father meant by that. Megumi decided to just change the subject.

"Mommy how's the new baby?"

"Oh, the baby's fine sweetheart."

"Is it kicking again can I feel?"

"Sure." Ino smiled for her daughter.

Megumi reached over and placed her hand to her mother's stomach. She waited for awhile and suddenly felt the light kick of her new baby brother or sister. She let out a giggle.

"I felt my little sister."

"It might be your baby brother."

"I want a little sister though. Mommy how did she get there?"

Silence filled the air as everyone wanted to see how Ino was going to explain this one to her 6 year old daughter.

"Um…."

"We were playing a game." Naruto immediately answered.

Ino breathed a sigh of relief. She was so not ready to have this conversation with Megumi just yet.

"Yes that's right we were playing a game." Ino nodded.

"Yeah Megumi-chan when a mommy and daddy love each other they play a really fun game." Tenten told her.

She had a curious look in her blue orbs but she seemed to accept the answer.

"Okay." She nodded. "I can't wait to see my baby sister."

She seemed dead-set on the new baby being a girl.

"Don't be too disappointed if it's a boy alright Megumi.' Shikamaru told his goddaughter.

"Okay Uncle Shika."

Ino soon stood up with the help of Naruto. She figured that it was time to head back home before Naruto began to panic even more.

"Alright Megumi we're going home okay. I think we've all had enough excitement for today, right Naruto?"

"Yeah you're right. You should be off your feet."

"Yes sir." She nodded. "Bye you guys. Next time I guess you'll be visiting me."

"Bye Ino." The friends waved. "Take care of yourself okay."

Sakura hugged her precious goddaughter goodbye.

"Bye Megumi-chan please be good for your mommy and daddy okay."

Megumi nodded but everyone doubted if the girl would be able to stay out of trouble for long.

"I will," She nodded. "Bye Auntie Sakura, Uncle Shika, Hinata-san, Ms. Tenten and Mr. Lee."

"Goodbye Megumi-chan." Everyone spoke. "We'll see you soon."

And with that the family made their way back home. Megumi was walking in the middle of her parents as she held on to one of their hands. Naruto couldn't help but smile at his family. He was glad to finally have a family to call his very own. Him, Ino, Megumi, and the new baby to be. His family.

"What's wrong old man?" Megumi wondered.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how lucky I' am Megumi-chan."

"Oh," She nodded.

He doubted if she would ever call him dad. He would just have to learn to live without hearing that word from her. He wasn't sure if he could do that though.

"_She'll never call me dad will she?"_ He thought.

* * *

Later that night as Naruto and Ino were tucking their little girl in to bed she seemed to be restless.

"Megumi-chan what's wrong?"

"Mommy, old man did you guys always love each other?" She had to ask.

Naruto and Ino glanced at each other for a moment. Naruto gave the thumbs up to Megumi and smiled.

"Of course Megumi-chan your mother was head over heels in love with me."

Ino chuckled lightly as she put her hand to the back of his head.

"Liar, don't lie to her."

Ino sat down on the opposite side of her daughter with Naruto sitting on the other side.

"Your father and I weren't always in love. In fact we weren't really that close when we were younger."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Your mom's right. We were not friends when were kids, far from it."

Megumi blinked in confusion. She thought her parents had been together forever.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah I didn't like him much when we were kids."

"Yep." Naruto agreed. "Your mother was a really loud, bossy, scary girl back then."

Ino frowned and hit her husband upside the head.

"Ouch Ino-chan."

"Watch it Naruto."

"No, but seriously we didn't hate each other or anything. We just didn't really get to know each other until we were older."

"So then how did you two fall in love?" The blue-eyed child asked.

"Well Megumi-chan you see it all started when your dad and I were about 17. We had this plan."

"We?" Naruto repeated. "No, Megumi-chan it was all your mother's idea."

Ino rolled her eyes but couldn't lie about that.

"Okay so it was all my idea. I had a plan to help your father only it ended up backfiring on both of us."

"Yep neither one of us were expecting to actually like each other, especially not falling in love with one another." Naruto said.

Ino nodded in agreement. The last thing she had ever anticipated was to fall in love with Naruto in the way that she had. But she never regretted a single thing that happened between them.

"You're dad was the absolute last guy I thought I ever fall for. But once I really got to know him I was pleasantly surprised. He was fun, sweet, and the best guy I've ever known. He's also the only one I'll ever love." She spoke and stared over at her husband. Naruto grinned and reached for her hand. He gave it a slight squeeze within his.

"You're mom's right. I never thought I'd be with her. But getting to know her was the best thing that ever happened to me. There's no one else for me but her."

"You two are going to be together forever right?" Megumi asked hopefully. She wanted her parents to stay in love and always be together no matter what. Any child would want that.

"Yes we'll always be together okay sweetheart." Ino promised. "It'll always be just you, me, your father and the new baby."

"My baby sister."

"Or brother." Naruto intervened.

"Yeah." Megumi let out a yawn. "Thanks for telling me that story goodnight mommy….daddy." She closed her eyes.

"Huh?" Naruto immediately looked to his daughter. Had he just heard correctly? Did he finally hear the words he had been dying to hear?

"Megumi-chan?"

The blonde-haired child had already fallen asleep. Naruto looked over to Ino he had his one of a kind smile on his face.

"Ino-chan she just called me daddy."

"Yeah I know and it's about time. Come on let's leave her to sleep."

She took him by the hand and let him out of her room. He knew he would never forget this night for as long as he lived.

"She finally called me daddy. I've waited over 5 years for this moment.

Ino nodded and hugged him.

"She loves you Naruto you know that, even if it took her this long to call you daddy."

Naruto nodded.

"I love her too, oh and you too little one." He spoke to his new child.

Ino chuckled lightly. She was glad to see Naruto so happy. It made what she had to tell him a whole lot easier to say. Naruto soon noticed her silence.

"Ino-chan is something wrong?"

"Naruto,"

He took both of her hands into his and gave them a squeeze.

"You can tell me alright Ino."

She nodded and then smiled for him.

"Okay well then I guess it's not a bad time to tell you that we're having twins huh."

Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he fell out on to the floor.

"Naruto?" She questioned.

"Two…two babies. Megumi-chan times two." He managed to say.

Ino just gazed down at the man she so dearly loved as he kept mumbling about their two little additions. She should have probably told him about the twins sooner.

"_I think he took it well."_ She thought.

"Naruto are you okay?" She asked.

He got up off the floor, shaking off that nasty fall.

"Huh, oh yeah I'm fine. So," He rubbed his head. "Did you say twins?"

"Yea I sure did. You're a proud daddy to two new babies. I was a little nervous about telling you."

Naruto shook his head and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

"No way Ino-chan you shouldn't have ever been nervous. I'm happy."

"You are?"

"Yes the more the merrier." He said cheerfully. "As long as it doesn't take 6 years for them to call me dad like with Megumi-chan, then we'll be just fine."

Ino hugged him in a tight hug.

"Two more Uzumaki's to add to our little village right?"

"You got it Ino-chan. I'm beyond excited. I love you." He kissed her again.

"I love you too Naruto."

The couple embraced again. He held her close to him and soon let her go to put his hands on to her very swollen stomach.

"We're having twins." He whispered.

"Yeah," She nodded and smiled.

"Well now that you mention it you are a little bit bigger than when you had Megumi-chan." He noticed.

The smile from her face completely faded and she hit him upside the head.

"Ouch." He shouted.

"Naruto watch your mouth." She nearly growled.

He began to chuckle a little.

"I'm sorry Ino-chan. You're still the most beautiful woman in the world you know that."

She blushed slightly at his thoughtful words and hugged him again.

"Huh, what's this for?"

"It's just for being you. And I'm thinking about how very lucky I am. Look at all we have just because of that silly little plan of ours when we were younger. We have so much to be thankful for."

"You mean your plan right Ino-chan?"

"Yes." She laughed a little. "It was my idea but you went along with it."

He pulled her lips into another kiss.

"Yeah and I'm really glad that I did go along with it, even if it was a stupid plan."

"Stupid?" She repeated. "That stupid plan brought me to you, you should be grateful I thought of it." She smiled.

He put his hand to her head and stroked her hair slightly. He would always be grateful of having the chance to get to know the platinum-blonde. Who knows how his life would have turned out if he didn't say yes to her idea? Would there be a Megumi, or these two new little ones to add to his family. He couldn't say for sure but he was grateful for the way his life turned out. His life with Ino and his family was the best life he could possibly imagine.

"I'm grateful Ino believe me."

"So am I." She agreed. "I'm glad we had the chance."

"Yeah," Naruto whispered and kissed her on the side of her head. "I'm glad too. I love you more than anything. You and our family."

"I love you too Naruto." She closed her eyes and allowed him to just hold her close to him. She could literally feel his heart beating through his chest. It gave her a comforting sort of feeling.

"_Yeah life is good."_ The two blond's thought to themselves as they stood in each other's embrace. This was perfect. This was the absolute definition of heaven to the two of them. It would always be just him and his family. Naruto would cherish his family for the rest of his life. Ino paused as she felt the twins kicking at her.

"Hey did you feel that, they're kicking."

"Yeah I felt it. They're strong. I'm glad."

"Me too we'll have a lot of trouble on our hands with these two plus Megumi."

"Yeah." He agreed with her. "But it'll be worth it."

'When should we tell Megumi she'll be a big sister to two babies? I wanted you to know first."

"We'll tell her soon. I still need some time for it to sink in first. I almost can't believe that you're going to have two. You've made me a really happy man Ino-chan, thank you."

"And you made me a very happy woman Naruto. No one could make me as happy as you have." That she was positive of. They leaned in for another kiss before breaking away for air.

"Thank you for everything." They whispered to each other.

**A/n: Well there we go. I couldn't think of a better way to end the story I' am so sorry. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the story as a whole and I would appreciate reviews lol. Thanks again for reading and enjoying this story so much. Read and review and let's say goodbye to a pretty decent story overall. Thanks again for all the support and love and I hope you guys enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it no matter how long it took to complete lol. Peace!**


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